The Death of the Shadow Fox
by KatherineAliceBeckettCullen
Summary: Part 4 of The Shadow Fox saga. Takes place several years after "The Fall of the Shadow Fox" ends. Characters and events from the last couple seasons are now in this story. The 12th precinct has moved on after the arrest of the Shadow Fox, but what happens when she reenters their lives? Rated M to be safe. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: It has been a long time since I wrote/posted anything related to the Castleverse, but with everything that happened in the final season, and with a sudden urge/ideas to write, I felt it was time to return to the Shadow Fox version of this world. So, without further ado, here is the first case in the final part of the saga. It starts a few years after LockSat was taken down. Hayley is a part of this universe now; Beckett has become Captain and Castle has his P.I. office (Alexis works there too). Everyone caught up? Great! Let's get started. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1

Castle opened the door to his P.I. offices to see Hayley hard at work already. "What do we have today, Hayley? Anything juicy for me to sink my teeth into?"

Hayley looked over at him. "Not unless you count a man who wants us to find out if his wife is cheating on him."

"Eh, boring." He headed for his desk.

"His wife came in a little later. She thinks he's cheating on her."

"Slightly more interesting." Castle sat down. "What do you think?"

"I think they should just get a divorce and be done with it, but that's not my call to make. I'll check them out."

"You really want to?"

Hayley nodded. "Yeah, it sounds like an easy one to me."

"Okay, have fun."

"I will." Hayley smiled and sat across from Castle. "So, how's your wife?"

"Enjoying her job."

"It's been, what? Two years since you guys beat LockSat? You haven't had any crazy cases since then…"

"Don't jinx it. Hey, Pumpkin."

"Morning, Dad. What's with the cops downstairs?"

Castle stood up. "I don't know. No one was there when I arrived." He looked out the window.

Hayley was looking out of the window in the reception area. "It's about a dead body."

Castle's phone rang. "Hey, Honey."

Beckett was on the other end. "I just got a call about a body at your building. I was worried."

"I'm fine. I just heard about the body. Everybody here is fine, too."

"I wasn't worried about Alexis or Hayley. The victim is a male."

"Victim? It's a murder?"

"Lanie says there's a knife sticking out of his back, so, yeah, it's murder. Meet you downstairs?"

"On my way down." Castle hung up and turned to Hayley. "It's a murder downstairs. What to come? See if you've noticed the victim around?"

"Couldn't hurt."

* * *

Beckett arrived with Ryan and Esposito a few minutes after they got downstairs. "You brought Hayley, too? No offence. I didn't mean it like..."

Hayley smiled. "It's fine. None taken."

"She spends more time in this area than I do."

"Castle just wants me to see if I know the victim from around here."

"That's not a bad idea. This way." Beckett followed Ryan and Esposito to the crime scene. "Lanie didn't give me much over the phone. All I know is white male, mid to late 50's, with a kitchen knife sticking out of his back." They walked through the police line with a few officers saying "Captain" to Beckett as she passed by.

Lanie looked up as they got to her. "Captain. Always nice when you come to my crime scenes."

"Hey Lanie. What do we got?"

"Can't give you much more than what I told you over the phone. His wallet is gone, so I don't have an I.D. We have his phone, though."

"His name is Dalton Smithe." Hayley had crouched down by Lanie to look at the victim's face. "He came in about an hour and a half ago. Thought his wife was cheating on him. His wife, Melinda, came in half an hour after he left. Same story."

Esposito turned to Ryan. "Looks like we got ourselves a suspect already."

Hayley stood up. "That would put his time of death between ten and twenty minutes ago. When did the 911 call come in?"

Esposito looked at Beckett. "Around thirty minutes ago."

"Then she didn't kill him."

Esposito scoffed. "And why's that?"

"She didn't have any blood on her when she came into the office."

"She could have washed it off."

"You can't wash blood off cashmere or suede quickly. She was wearing both fabrics."

Esposito caved. "Alright, so maybe she didn't wield the weapon, but we still need to talk to her."

"I agree." Hayley smiled, satisfied. "Just know Melinda didn't stab him."

Ryan put his phone to his ear. "I'll get her brought to the precinct."

* * *

"I can't believe he's gone." Melinda Smithe was sitting across from Beckett and Castle in the precinct lounge. "I'm not going to act like I still loved him more than life itself. I know he was cheating on me, and it's been going on for a lot longer than my relationship. Unfortunately, if I couldn't prove it, I couldn't file for divorce."

"So you were in another relationship?"

Melinda looked at Beckett. "Yes. Mostly because of my husband's relationship. You said he also went to Mr. Castle's P.I. offices?" She scoffed. "He's such a hypocrite. It's okay for him to have another relationship, but if I get one, he wants to screw me out of any money."

"Did you have a motive to kill your husband?" Castle leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands raised. "I only ask because we will have to look at you very closely."

"I get it. I was in the area, I had a reason to want him dead, but no, I didn't kill him. He was worth more to me alive."

Beckett's brow contacted in confusion. "And why is that?"

"His will states that I don't get a thing in the event of his death. I'm his second wife, and we don't have any kids. The children he had with his first wife get everything now."

"I'd like permission to…"

"I'll let my lawyer know to give you access to everything. You can search my home, see my financials and email," she pulled her phone from her purse, "and you can go through my phone records. The passcode is 8492."

"Thank you, Mrs. Smithe. Um, we will need to ask about your… relationship."

"His name is Aaron Blakeshaw. We've been together almost a year. His number is in my phone. I can text him and ask him to come in if you'd like."

"That would be great." Beckett handed the phone back and Melinda sent the text.

"There. What else did you want to know?"

"What was your morning like today?"

Melinda sat back in the armchair. "I got up around 7:30 and had breakfast. I was going to go to my yoga class, but I decided it was time for me to get proof that my husband was cheating on me. That's when I went to Mr. Castle's office."

"And your husband?"

"He left while I was eating. I thought he was going into the office, but I guess he wasn't." Melinda looked at her hands. "I didn't love my husband the way I used to, but I did still love him. I didn't kill him."

After Mrs. Smithe left, Castle followed Beckett into her office. "So, what do you think?"

"I want to believe her, but we've seen our fair share of convincing, grieving spouses."

"True." Castle sat across from his wife. "I believe her. The willingness she had to give us everything? That makes me think she didn't do it. Though I do think the boyfriend is someone to look into. If he wanted to marry her, getting the husband out of the way sounds like a good motive."

"Which is why we'll need to talk to him." Beckett's phone buzzed. "Well, Ryan and Esposito will. Lanie's ready downstairs."

"That was fast."

"That means the C.O.D. was what we saw at the scene."

* * *

"Hey, Lanie."

"Hey. Thought you might want to get out of your office."

"Much obliged."

Lanie pulled the sheet covering Mr. Smithe down. "C.O.D. is as expected. The knife punctured the right atrium and ventricle of his heart."

Castle held up the knife tube. "How hard would there be?"

"That depends on if they were going for that or if they got lucky. My guess is that they got lucky."

"Why do you say that?"

"The heart is protected by the ribs. The posterior portion of the ribs are closer together around the heart. From the front, it would be easier to get to the heart. From the back, the killer would have needed to find the gap between the ribs and reach the heart."

Beckett nodded. "He was only stabbed once. The killing blow was a rare strike."

"And the angle of the thrust was low. My guess is that the killer is between 5'2" and 5'6". His killer is probably a woman."

"You're sure?"

Lanie nodded. "That or a very short man. But I wouldn't bet on that. How tall is his wife?"

"5'9". Same as me."

"When you're not in heels. If she held her arm at a weird angle, I guess she could have killed him, but it's unlikely."

"Okay, thanks, Lanie."

"No problem." Lanie turned to Castle. "Hayley said that both the victim and his wife came into your office hoping you'd help them discover if the other was cheating on them? How often does that happen?"

"This is the first time I've heard of it happening."

"Huh." Lanie turned back to Beckett. "Well, here's the file. Good luck."

"Thanks, Lanie." Beckett took the folder and led the way back to the bullpen.

* * *

Ryan looked up as Beckett and Castle returned. "Hey, so Mrs. Smithe's records all check out. Financials, email, and phone; she doesn't appear to have any connection to any hitmen."

"What about the boyfriend?"

"He hasn't arrived yet. Esposito is trying to find him."

"Found him." Esposito walked in. "Uniforms say he was at home. He misunderstood Mrs. Smithe's text and was waiting for someone to come get him. He's on his way now."

"Good." Beckett handed Ryan the autopsy folder. "Lanie says the killer is between 5'2" and 5'6". They are also most likely female."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Beckett nodded. "I agree with Castle. The girlfriend is a good bet, so when Mrs. Smithe's boyfriend arrives, ask him about the woman."

Esposito raised his hand. "Don't take this the wrong way, but doesn't this case seem a little easy?"

Beckett smirked. "I seem to remember a young detective who wished that life would 'gimme a Jack shot Jill over Bill so I can get my collar and go home.' What changed?"

"Ten years of working the freaky ones with you. And that was before you became Captain."

Ryan grinned. "Add another three with you at the helm and the weird cases have become old hat for us. Now the easy cases are the weird ones."

"Different kind a weird, obviously."

"Well, enjoy the easy cases when they come your way." Beckett headed for her office. "But never assume a case will be easy."

Singh Vikram stood up when Beckett came in. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes." Beckett sat and opened the locked drawer of her desk. "The victim's phone is locked. His wife didn't know the code. I'm hoping you'll be able to get in."

"Do we have a warrant?"

"We have the wife's permission, but I'll get a warrant if that will make you feel better."

Vikram took the phone from Beckett. "No, that's okay. What am I looking for?"

"His wife was sure he was cheating on her. We need to know if that's true and who the mystery woman is."

"Okay. I'll get right on that."

"Thanks. Let us know what you find."

* * *

**A/N: I know this wasn't the story most people thought I would return to posting with, but I've been a little stuck on that one and this one decided to fill in the gap a bit. Hopefully I can get unstuck on that one soon. ****Did you guys like how this first chapter went? Leave a comment below and stay tuned for more.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: I'd like to thank KB4RC, two Guests, TORONTOSUN, DREAMWRITER, and southerngirl1 for their reviews. KB4RC: **I'm sorry to hear that Vikram was such a turn off for you. While he wasn't my favorite new character, I thought I should include him for at least a little bit. If it makes you feel better, his involvement in this story will be minimal for most of the cases.** TORONTOSUN: **I'm happy to be back. I've missed writing for Castle and am glad inspiration struck after all this time.** This chapter picks up where the last one left off. ****Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 2

Aaron Blakeshaw was escorted to the lounge when he arrived and Ryan interviewed him with Esposito. "Mr. Blakeshaw, sorry about the confusion earlier."

"Not a problem. Most of that was my fault anyway."

"Right. What can you tell us about Mr. and Mrs. Smithe's relationship?"

"They were good. For the most part, at least. I mean, I know he had a woman he was seeing. And Mel was seeing me. But, for the most part, they were good. The last month or so was different."

"What do you mean?"

"Mel could feel things were changing for Dalton. He was acting differently. That's why she was feeling like a divorce might be the best thing for her."

Esposito set a glass of water in front of Aaron. "Do you know how he was acting differently?"

"No, not really. Mel didn't talk about Dalton much when we were together. I mean, let's be honest. She was seeing me for the sex. It wasn't for my scintillating conversation."

"Do you know who Dalton Smith was seeing?"

"No." Aaron leaned back into the couch. "That's why Mel needed a P.I."

"Did you recommend Castle's business?"

"Well, yeah. There's a woman who works there who's really good at her job. I can't remember her name, but I took a case to her and she helped me out. I told Mel to ask for her."

"Hayley Shipton?"

"No, her name started with an 'A', I think."

Esposito looked at Ryan. "Great. Is there anything else you can think of that might explain why someone wanted Mr. Smithe dead?"

Aaron thought about it. "No, not really. He is a lawyer. Maybe that had something to do with it?"

* * *

"Dalton Smithe works for Bretz and Coven. He's pretty high up, too. The mail room isn't very fond of him." Hayley sat across from Beckett. "That's as far in as I could get without making people suspicious."

"Bretz and Coven. That takes us back a bit." Beckett leaned back in her chair. "Why didn't the mail room like him?"

"He was very particular about the condition his mail arrived in. If it wasn't just so, he would yell at the person who delivered it. I asked around about a girlfriend. They said there was a rumor, but no one had a name."

Castle cleared his throat. "Does the name Aaron Blakeshaw sound familiar?"

"Yes. Alexis and I solved a case for him. Why?"

"He's Mrs. Smithe's boytoy."

"Oh. That's interesting." Hayley stood. "I can go grab the file on him if you'd like."

"That'd be great. And thanks for the intel." Beckett stood and shook Hayley's hand.

"Sure. I'll bring the file back in an hour or so." She left the office.

Ryan came in. "So, Aaron Blakeshaw's alibi checks out. And we've just started to look at all his records, but it looks like he's clean too. What do you want us to do?"

"Dalton Smithe worked at Bretz and Coven. Find out what they know about him. Work enemies, personal life, former clients; that sort of thing. And get the girlfriend's name."

"You got it."

* * *

Esposito put the car in park and got out. "I'm kinda surprised this firm is still in business. After the fraud scandal, you know?"

"That was just one part of the firm's services. That section had to go through a major overhaul, but it wasn't bad enough to kill the whole company."

The boys badged their way up to the main floor for Bretz and Coven, where they were greeted with weird stares and awkward silence. The receptionist was friendly though, and soon the pair were on their way to talk to the senior partner, Clarence Fishbourne. A short conversation later, the detectives were allowed to talk to the rest of the firm's employees.

Clarence Fishbourne stepped out of his office. "Listen up. These two detectives are here to speak to everyone about Dalton Smithe. Just answer their questions honestly. Thank you."

"What happened?"

Esposito stepped forward. "We would have preferred to talk to you individually, but since the question was asked, I'm sorry to inform you all that he was murdered this morning."

Murmurs broke out as Esposito and Ryan moved into the crowd to ask questions. Most the employees didn't really know the victim all that well, so those conversations went really quickly. Some of the employees knew the victim a little better and they were able to give some information about Mr. Smithe, but what they had to say wasn't all that different from what was available in police records or the internet.

Mr. Smithe's secretary on the other hand had a lot of information to share. "And you can't think of anyone who would want to hurt Mr. Smithe?"

"Not from a work standpoint, no. He made sure to not piss off the people he was going up against. I'm not quite sure how he did it, but he was good at it. If I had to guess, his girlfriend is the one I would look at."

"So he did have a girlfriend?"

"Yes," Mrs. Olverson nodded, "but I don't know her name. He was careful about that. I don't think he wanted people to know. Not that it worked. Everyone knew."

"Everyone in the floor!" A gunshot rang out and everyone froze. "That one was a blank, but the rest are real." A masked woman, her voice somehow being altered by the mask across the lower part of her face, was standing on a desk by the elevators. Her clothing was all black and her hair was pulled back in a bun with metal hairpins holding it in place. She was wearing a bulletproof vest over a turtleneck with throwing knives in holsters along her arms. If Esposito had to guess, she was a former military member; most likely involved in covert ops.

Esposito's hand went for his gun and another gunshot rang out. "Hands off that! The next one goes between your eyes." He nodded and raised his hands. He didn't need any other instructions; the feel of the bullet slicing through the air mere millimeters from his hand had been enough.

The woman pointed one of her guns at an employee. "Grab the cops' guns and bring them to me." The employee hesitated. "Now!"

The employee, visibly shaking, went to the detectives. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Esposito turned to the masked woman. "Is there something we can call you?"

"No. I'm here for a file. You two shouldn't have been here." The detectives' guns were placed on the desk in front of the woman. "Who has access to a file designated HK4112013ED?"

"I do." Fishbourne stood up. "Where do I need to send it?"

A bag had been clipped to the back of the woman's pants. She unhooked it and tossed it at the senior partner. "Print it out and put it in there."

Fishbourne sighed and logged into the nearest computer. The printer closest to the work station started spitting out pages and one of the paralegals started putting the pages in the bag. Esposito worked on memorizing the masked woman's face and clothes. The guns were as black as her outfit, but by the looks of it, they were .40 caliber Smith and Wesson p226's. This woman meant business.

Ryan taped his arm. "I tried to call dispatch, but there's no signal. She's got a jammer."

Esposito pulled out his phone to check. "You're right. That's why she wasn't collecting everyone's phones. You don't need to if they don't work."

"No talking!"

The senior partner brought the bag to her. "Here, that's the whole file."

The masked woman holstered one gun and slung the bag across her body. "One last thing. There was an item given to you when this file was opened. Where is it?"

"We don't keep things like that here."

"Where do you keep them?"

Fishbourne shook his head. "I can't."

The woman slowly pulled one of the throwing knives from its holster. "I don't enjoy torture, but I need that location. So I'm willing to make an exception." Her arm cocked back to throw.

"It's in the largest safety deposit vault at First United Bank!" Fishbourne's secretary looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry."

The masked woman sheathed the knife. "Thank you."

"You won't get away with this." Esposito stepped forward. "You will get caught."

The woman pressed the button for the elevator. "You might be surprised with what I get away with, Detective. You won't catch me."

The elevator doors opened and she stepped inside. As soon as the doors closed, cell reception returned and everyone started calling 911. Ryan and Esposito retrieved their guns and raced down the stairs to try and catch the woman. When they got downstairs, their eyes frantically surveyed the crowd, but no one down here had auburn hair or was wearing black tactical gear. The door to the elevator she'd entered opened, but no one was inside.

"The hatch is open. She went out the top." Ryan holstered his gun.

Esposito followed suit. "She's good." He hit the wall with his fist in frustration. "We lost her."

"Did she look familiar to you?"

"No. She sounded like a female Kylo Ren, but that's the only thing that seemed familiar. Why?"

"She kinda looked familiar to me. I just can't place it."

Esposito grabbed his phone and called dispatch. "This is Esposito. E-S-P-O-S-I-T-O. Badge number 75931. I'm at 125 Broad St. Suspect in armed robbery is a white female, 5'4" to 5'7". She is wearing all black with a high-altitude training mask. Suspect is heavily armed."

"_Badge 75931, please elaborate._"

"Two guns and at least eight throwing knives. Requesting SWAT to search the building."

"_Copy, badge 75931. SWAT has been notified._"

"Thank you." Esposito hung up. "SWAT's on the way. Beckett knows now?"

"Yeah." Ryan pocketed his phone and reentered the elevator. "She probably got into a different elevator. My guess is she's got a sneaky way to escape."

A blonde woman reading from her phone bumped into Esposito as she got off the nearest elevator. "Sorry. Excuse me."

"Yeah, sorry." Esposito looked around the lobby again. "There's no way she'd get out of here in what she was wearing."

Ryan gestured over his shoulder. "I'm going to talk to security and see about getting the footage from the elevators. You good here?"

"Yeah. I'll keep an eye out here."

Just as Ryan was returning to the elevator banks, SWAT arrived and started their sweep of the building. Beckett arrived soon after and questioned the boys on everything they had seen and everything the woman had said. They all went back up to the law offices and asked a lot of questions about the file and the woman. In the end, they had to conclude that the file had nothing to do with the murder investigation.

Beckett pulled the boys to the side. "As much as we want to pursue the thief, we need to table that for now. Robbery division will be taking this one. I've already gotten their captain to agree to share the information."

"You got it, Captain." Ryan pulled out his notebook. "The office knew he had a girlfriend, but no one knows her name. We're getting a list of the people he was most likely to have a beef with from a work standpoint, but no one thinks any of them are a real possibility."

"Okay. Hayley brought Aaron Blakeshaw's file. We can go through that while we wait for Vikram to unlock the victim's phone."

* * *

**A/N: Stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: I'd like to thank southerngirl1 and TORONTOSUN for their reviews. This chapter starts where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3

Ryan summarized the file. "Aaron Blakeshaw. Thought the cleaning service his mother used was stealing from her. Hayley went undercover in the service and Alexis became friends with Mrs. Blakeshaw to install hidden cameras. Footage proved the cleaning ladies were stealing and the company fired those cleaners."

Hayley nodded. "There was an internal investigation and a 'cleaning' as a result. Should be fine to hire that company now."

Beckett took the file from Ryan. "What can you tell me about him?"

Hayley shrugged. "Not much. We rarely interacted with him past the initial sit down. You've seen him though. He is yummy. At the same time, I got the feeling there wasn't much behind the face."

"So, if he is involved, he's not the brains of the operation."

Hayley stood. "That would be my assumption. Do you still need me?"

Beckett shook Hayley's hand. "No, we should be good. I'll let you know, though."

"Great. Have fun, guys." She turned and headed for the elevator.

"Hi, Hayley."

"Hey, Vikram. How's your day going?"

"Good, it's great. You?" Vikram smiled nervously.

"Can't complain. We still on for Friday?"

"Wha- yeah, yes. Yes, of course. I'll come get you at seven?"

"I look forward to it." The elevator arrived and she stepped in with a smile.

Esposito was going to wolf whistle, but Beckett jumped in. "Leave him alone."

Vikram walked into Beckett's office and launched into his report. "I got the phone unlocked. The girlfriend's name is Rebecca Green. Smithe called her at least twice a day. Texts were a lot more frequent."

"Ballpark?"

"Ten at least. The average is closer to twenty-five. I'll… let you guess the contents." Vikram handed Beckett his report.

"Good job. Ryan, Esposito: find her. Bring her in." Beckett went back to her office.

Ryan typed in the mistress' name. "Got her address."

Esposito grabbed his coat. "Let's go."

* * *

The boys picked up Ms. Green as she left her apartment building to go to work. She had been very reluctant to go with them, citing a few times that failure to report to work could get her fired. They told her they would smooth things over with her boss and she relented. The car ride back to the precinct was quiet. Esposito wanted to engage her in a conversation, but she was a suspect; anything she said needed to be preceded by a reading of the Miranda Rights, and they hadn't recited them to her yet.

When they got back to the precinct, Ryan recited the rights to Ms. Green. "Do you understand these rights as they've been read to you?"

"Am I a suspect in something?"

"Yes or no, Ms. Green?"

"Yes, I understand. Am I a suspect?"

Ryan sat down. "We've had to recite that to everyone we question lately."

Esposito set the victim's DMV picture in front of her. "What is your relationship with Mr. Smithe?"

"Was. What was my relationship."

"So you know he's dead?"

Rebecca looked up. "What?" She looked between the two. "I thought… I thought he was trying to get the ring he gave me back. He's dead?"

"Murdered. He was murdered this morning. Why did you say was?"

"We broke up. About a month ago."

Ryan took the picture off the table. "Did you know he was married?"

"Yes, I knew. That was half the appeal. You know, the fact that it was 'forbidden,' I guess. But then he was done with it and broke it off with me."

Beckett was watching from the other side of the glass. Rebecca had been nervous at the beginning when the boys had recited her rights, but she'd settled in soon after that. When she talked about how the victim had broken off their relationship, her shoulders moved slightly, as if she was shrugging off something. Esposito asked if she'd heard the name Aaron Blakeshaw before and Ms. Green did it again when she said no.

Becket knocked on the glass and Esposito opened the door between the rooms. "Yeah?"

Beckett gestured that he should come in. "Close the door." She waited for the door to close before she continued. "She has a tell. Her shoulders moved like she's shrugging, but with a lot less movement. Don't press her relationship with Blakeshaw, but do ask if Smithe promised to marry her."

"Okay?"

"I think she knows Blakeshaw, but I don't want her to shut down yet. We're going to let her go and have her followed. Now that we've talked to both of them, they should meet up."

"Got it." Esposito returned to the interrogation room. "A colleague of ours wonders what the ring Mr. Smithe gave you means. Did he promise to marry you after divorcing his wife?"

"What? Oh, no, no it wasn't like that for us. I was his mistress, nothing more." Rebecca shrugged again.

"Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt Mr. Smithe?"

Ms. Green sat back and thought about it. "No, not really. I don't even think his wife would've hurt him."

"And where were you this morning?"

"Yoga class." Ms. Green leaned forward. "Did you need the address?"

"That'd be great."

Beckett watched Rebecca leave the precinct from her office. This woman was definitely involved in Mr. Smithe's death, she just couldn't tell what that was. Green had a tell, and when she'd said she was in a yoga class, she'd shrugged again. Green's alibi was mostly gone from that alone, but Beckett would still check that out to be sure. The elevator doors closed and Beckett lost sight of their prime suspect.

Esposito walked in. "Hey, Captain. Plain clothes downstairs are following her now. Ryan and I were going to check out her alibi. Anything else you want us to do?"

"Not right now." She went to her desk. "Keep me posted."

"You got it."

* * *

Ryan shut the car door. "I'm just saying that the woman who stole the files might be connected to this case."

"She's not. The victim wasn't involved with that case. He wasn't even in the office when the case was opened. For once this is a coincidence."

"I still can't shake the feeling that I've met her somewhere. I just can't place it."

Esposito nodded. "I've been thinking about it and now I think she is familiar. But you're right; it's a hard face to place."

Ryan opened the door to the yoga studio. "It'll come to one of us eventually."

A woman looked up. "I'm sorry, we're closing for the night. I should have locked that already."

Esposito held up his badge. "We just need to ask a couple questions."

"You're cops." The woman leaned the broom against the wall. "How can I help you?"

"Have you been here all day?"

"It's my studio. Yes, I'm here all day."

Ryan held up a photo of their suspect. "Was she here today?"

"I saw her, but not for long. She must have left and then come back. Yeah, I saw her twice. I think it was almost three hours later when she came back."

"You're sure?"

"I think so." She headed to the front desk. "You have her name?"

"Rebecca Green."

"I had to change sign-in books in the middle of the day, so that might give you something." She opened one book toward the back. "And… here she is. No checkout time."

Esposito was looking at the book already on the counter. "She checked out in this book. Put a time that is an hour and a half before everyone else around her name checked in."

"Her alibi is bogus." Ryan put his phone to his ear. "I'll let the captain know."

"Alibi? Alibi for what?"

"I'm sorry, I can't discuss the case at the moment." Esposito handed the woman his card. "If you see her again, call me."

"Please, at least tell me what she did. I don't want to do the wrong thing and... I don't know, spook her or something."

"Yeah, I'll hold." Ryan looked at his partner and sighed. "Just... assume she's dangerous and keep your distance. It's better to be safe, not sorry."

"Okay. Any chance you could leave a picture with me? So I know what she looks like?"

"Sure. You can keep this one. Thank you for your time."

* * *

"Whoo, what a day."

Kate shrugged out of her coat. "Yes, it was."

Rick pulled her into his arms. "What say you we forget about the case for a bit? Let's have dinner and then…"

"I'm still waiting to hear from Ryan and Esposito. Once I hear from them…"

"You're right. I forgot." Rick walked into the kitchen and took a look in the fridge. "I was going to make my famous grilled cheese. Sound good?"

"Very." Kate went into the bedroom and slipped into something more casual. "You know what my favorite part of my day is?"

"The devilishly handsome man you get to come home to every night?" Rick was busy putting dinner together.

Kate smiled as she came into the kitchen to hug him from behind. "No, but that's a nice bonus."

Castle tried guessing again. "Getting out of the monkey suit you have to wear at work?"

"No." Kate grabbed the lettuce so she could put together a salad. "I love getting to come home and just be me. No responsibilities coming at me from all sides, no one nagging me for my time; just me."

"But the precinct still calls you."

"Yeah, but, I don't have to be someone else until I'm there." Kate paused. "It's nice to drop the façade sometimes."

"Do you not like your job now?"

"That's not what I mean."

Rick grinned and turned back to the stove. "Just checking."

Kate's phone rang and she hurried to answer it. "Beckett."

"_The yoga studio's owner and manager gave us the logbook for today. Rebecca Green's alibi is bogus._"

"Run it for me."

"_She signed in when she said she did, but the book filled up, so it was switched for a new one. Green had to put her name down again in order to sign out again._"

"She would have been better off not signing out." Kate cleared her throat. "Okay, let's wait until the team watching her have something to bring her back in."

"_You got it._"

She hung up. "The girlfriend's alibi is bogus. No surprise there. I'm gonna wait for information from the surveillance team before dragging her back to the precinct."

"Good call. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Alexis at Hayley's tonight?"

"Yep." He flipped the sandwiches. "Is that an invitation to...

She kissed him for a long moment. "You can count on it."

* * *

**A/N: Stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: I'd like to thank TORONTOSUN and a Guest for their reviews. Guest: **This story is fairly AU, but this is only a couple years after Season 8 ended (prior to the seven years later scene). After seeing your comment, I looked up a picture of the kids to try and guesstimate how old the kids were because I'd only seen them when the episode aired and didn't research them before getting back into writing this part of the story. I would guess that Lily was born about two years after Castle and Beckett were attacked, but the kids won't show up in this story merely because of what I have planned in the story line. Sorry if that is a disappointment to you. **TORONTOSUN: **I've been having fun with the boys so far, so I hope I can keep it up. Thank you.

**I'd like to apologize for posting late this week. Morning sickness was kicking my butt this weekend and I wasn't up to doing much of anything. I'll try to keep to a schedule. Thank you for your patience. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Esposito had volunteered to be on the early morning shift of Ms. Green's surveillance. He'd been sitting with Officer Gannon for a couple hours now just watching the suspect's building. It was just one more example of the tedium that was stakeouts, but he couldn't complain. He loved this job, not in spite of the tedium and boredom; those things challenged him. Now paperwork, that was an "in spite of" thing, but the rest was good.

The plainclothes officer tapped his arm. "She's on the move."

"Finally." Esposito finished off the coffee he'd been nursing and stepped out of the car. "I'll follow her on foot."

"Copy that."

Rebecca Green walked briskly down the street, almost as if she was in a hurry. Esposito followed at a safe distance, his phone in hand so she wouldn't look twice at him. The undercover car passed them three times as they walked. Just as Officer Gannon was passing for the fourth time, Green headed down into the subway. Esposito quickly texted the officer and Captain Beckett what was going on and that he would keep them updated.

Ryan was waiting for Esposito at the base of the stairs. "I pretended I was reading the paper so she couldn't see my face."

"Beckett send you?"

"Yeah. This was the closest stop to Green's apartment. Beckett wanted a man down here just in case."

"Blakeshaw lives four stops away. Officer Gannon should head there." Esposito sent the text and the partners resumed the tail.

Ryan and Esposito split up, keeping in contact through texts. Green got on the first train that pulled in and the detectives followed her at a distance. They kept her in sight though. At the second stop, Green got out of the train and headed for the exit. Esposito followed her while Ryan headed for the other stairs. It wouldn't be good for them to lose one of the suspects now.

Ryan came up to Esposito once they were above ground. "Why'd she get off here?"

"No idea. Maybe she's meeting Blakeshaw nearby." Esposito texted Gannon and Beckett the suspect's location. "I'll take the other side of the street."

"Copy."

They followed Green for two blocks, Ryan behind her and Esposito on the opposite side of the street. Green suddenly crossed the street and Esposito had to turn his back to avoid her recognizing him. Another block later, she stepped into a coffee shop. Esposito was about to follow her inside, but she came out with Blakeshaw by her side. The pair went around the corner and ducked into the nearest alley.

Esposito peeked around the corner into the alley. "There they are."

Ryan had rejoined his partner. "Gannon's at the other end."

"Good." Esposito watched the pair go around a bend in the alley. "We need to get closer to them." He entered the alley and stopped just before the bend.

Green and Blakeshaw must have stopped just around the corner because they were now within earshot. "… and that means you screwed up."

"Me?" Blakeshaw scoffed. "What about you? I thought he'd given you a ring. So why hadn't he divorced his wife yet?"

"He was getting there." Green sighed. "Okay, okay. We'll just have to slow everything down. You're going to have to get 'Mel' to marry you. I don't want to have put in all this work and not get anything for it." She turned to leave.

"What happened, Becks?"

Green turned back. "What do you mean?"

"It was you, wasn't it? You're the one who killed him, right?"

"So what if I did?"

"Because it screwed everything up!" Blakeshaw started to pace. "You were getting close to marrying him. Why'd you kill him?"

"Because he was still in love with his wife!" Green was breathing heavily. "He kept talking about divorcing her and marrying me, but I could tell it wouldn't happen. He was going to go back to her. We were about to lose everything!"

Ryan bumped Esposito with his shoulder. "Sounds like a confession to me."

Esposito nodded and rolled around the corner with his gun out. "NYPD! Don't move!"

Ryan was at his partner's shoulder. "Let me see your hands!"

Green and Blakeshaw turned to flee, but Officer Gannon had come running when he heard the shouts. "Freeze!"

Green and Blakeshaw looked at each other and slowly raised their hands. Blakeshaw looked resigned, but Green's face was contorted in rage and disappointment. Esposito kept his gun on the pair while Ryan and Gannon moved forward to cuff them. He read them their rights and the pair were separated to wait for their rides. The blue and whites arrived soon after the arrest and the pair were whisked away to the Twelfth Precinct.

* * *

"Have they said anything after they were arrested?"

"Nah, we kept them apart." Esposito pointed into each interrogation room. "Green was all glares and mutters. Blakeshaw was very interested in his shoes."

Beckett nodded. "Castle and I will take Blakeshaw."

"Prisoners' dilemma?"

"Works for me." Beckett left the observation room and beckoned to Castle. "Let's go."

"What's the plan?"

Beckett paused with her hand in the door handle. "Prisoners' dilemma."

"Nice."

"Mr. Blakeshaw. I'm Captain Beckett, this is Richard Castle."

Blakeshaw looked up. "Why's the Captain talking to me?"

"I like to be more hands on." Beckett took a seat. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Mr. Smithe's murder. I didn't have anything to do with that."

"Didn't you?" Castle was leaning against the wall behind Blakeshaw. "You were involved with his wife. You knew the woman he was with. So what is it the two of you were doing?"

"I'm not saying anything without talking to Becca first."

Beckett stood up. "That's fine. I guess she'll get the special consideration."

"Wait." Blakeshaw was halfway out of his chair. "What 'special consideration'?"

"First to talk gets us to put in a good word to the judge." Beckett was standing by the door.

Castle was heading for the door. "But since you want to talk to the other suspect first, I guess she'll have the chance to blame you for everything."

"But I'm…" Blakeshaw sighed. "I'll tell you everything I know."

Beckett sat again. "Start talking."

"It was all Becca's idea. She's the one who picked Dalton Smithe. She's the one who seduced him so the wife would be lonely and need a man like me."

"What part of the plan was to kill Dalton Smithe?" Castle was standing behind Blakeshaw again.

"It was never part of the plan!" Blakeshaw started to stand, but a look from Beckett had him sinking into his seat again. "Becca's job was to get Dalton to divorce his wife and marry her. Mine was to distract Mel, maybe even get her to marry me."

"So you are pulling a long con. What was the goal?"

"To clean then out. Get all their money. And then we'd disappear to some non-extradition country and enjoy our spoils."

"So what went wrong?" Castle took a seat.

"I don't know." He rubbed his face. "Becca… I think she fell in love with him or something. Or maybe she thought everything was crumbling. I don't know."

"Who killed Dalton Smithe?"

"Becca. She says he was still in love with his wife and that's why he had to die. But it doesn't make sense. He was killed around the corner from a P.I.'s office. That means he's on his way to filing for divorce… right?"

Beckett set a pad of paper and a pen in front of him. "Write it all down and sign it."

Aaron Blakeshaw picked up the pen and started to write. It took him the better part of an hour to finish writing his confession, but he finally signed the page and pushed it to Beckett. She read through what he'd written before thanking him and leaving for room. Esposito and Ryan were still trying to talk to Rebecca Green. She was insisting that Aaron would never talk. Beckett knocked on the mirror and shock crossed Green's face.

"Sounds like your buddy cracked." Esposito stood and entered the observation room. "Did he…"

Beckett held up the notepad. "Took all of a minute to get him to crack. I'm going to let Mrs. Smithe know what happened."

"Can I use that real quick?"

Beckett handed him the notebook. "Don't let her see what's on it."

"I know how to do my job."

Beckett grinned as he went back into the room. "I know."

Castle planted himself in front of the window. "I'm gonna stay here and watch."

Beckett headed out of the observation room. "Have fun."

Castle turned to the glass as Beckett left the room. "Oh, how do you like them apples?"

Mrs. Smithe was waiting in Beckett's office. "Did you get the killer?"

"We believe so." Beckett shut the door and gestured to the couch. "And I'm afraid that Aaron Blakeshaw is involved."

"What?" She sank into the couch. "What do you mean?"

Beckett say next to the window. "He knew your husband's girlfriend. They were working together to con you and your husband out of your money."

Mrs. Smithe sank father into the cushions. "How could he do this? Why?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Did he…?"

"No. Your husband was killed by his mistress. Apparently Dalton was still in love with you and was trying to get back together with you by ending both of your… relationships."

A tear was running down Melinda's face. "Thank you for finding the truth. I just wish I'd known." She stood to leave.

"Would you like me to have an officer take you home?"

"No, thank you. I'll be alright."

Castle walked in after Mrs. Smithe walked out. "Green still won't talk. How'd Mel take it?"

"About as well as can be expected."

Vikram came in. "Hey, uh, I've just talked to Robbery, but I thought I should tell you too. I screened the footage from the law office building."

"And?"

"Nothing. There is nothing on the footage. All cameras in the elevators were down, but the rest were fine. Here."

He handed Beckett the tablet and she hit play. They watched the woman's actions in the office, but there wasn't a lot to glean from that. The woman rarely allowed her face to be visible on camera, and what was visible was only the parts that weren't covered by her high tech mask. She then walked into the elevator and disappeared. Beckett handed the tablet back to Vikram.

"She never exits the elevators." Vikram turned the screen off. "I've gone through all the footage for that day and the next. No one leaving has that bag or that outfit. And that's a lot of gear. No one leaves with anything that could hold all of that in it. I'm stumped."

"What if she had a partner? Show me the lobby footage."

Vikram pulled up the right footage and gave the tablet to Beckett again. On the screen, Ryan and Esposito darted out of the stairwell and spread out a little to look at the crowd. The elevator the woman had been in opened, but no one stepped out. Ryan stepped inside the elevator, looking up, and came out putting his gun away and shaking his head. Esposito put his gun away and then hit the nearby wall in frustration.

"Pause it." Castle was looking at the video closely. "Any chance you could enhance that woman's face?" He pointed at the screen.

"I've already tried enhancing everyone's faces. The cameras are not very good, so most faces just get pixilated."

"You recognize her, Castle?"

Castle turned to his wife. "She looks like Rita. But Mason Wood said she was dead. Or that she would be soon."

"He also told me that you already were. Maybe he lied." Beckett thanked Vikram for the update. "We'll figure out what's going on here, Castle. We always do."

* * *

**A/N: Stay tuned!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: I'd like to thank southerngirl1, TORONTOSUN, and a Guest for their reviews. Guest: **Thank you for finding and reading all of the Shadow Fox Saga. I'm glad you loved it. **TORONTOSUN: **I'm feeling better this week, thank you for the well wishes. **This case starts about two months after the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5

Kate woke up to find that Rick was already up. From the smell, he was cooking breakfast. She smiled and stretched before standing up. She loved Saturdays. If no one was killed, she could spend a lazy day with her husband. She laughed; there were no "lazy days" with Rick. The feeling she'd had when they first met was still there. He was still a kid on a sugar rush, though he might be ten years old now.

Rick looked up when Kate walked out of their bedroom. "Good morning, sleepy head."

"What time is it?"

"Nine. You slept in today. Let me get your coffee ready."

She sat at the bar. "Thanks. So, what's on the menu this morning?"

"Oeufs A la Cantalienne. Eggs, Cantal cheese, créme fraîche, with salt and pepper, cream of tartar, and a dash of nutmeg." Rick put a ramekin on a plate and set it in front of his wife. "What do you think?"

"It looks amazing." Kate took a bite. "Mmm. A little too much pepper."

"Really?" Rick took a bite. "Oh, wow. You're right. I can make more."

"No, Rick, it's fine. We just know better for next time."

"You sure?"

Kate smiled. "I'm sure." She stretched up so she could kiss him.

"I'd tell you two to get a room, but you'd probably tell me you own all the rooms." Alexis perched herself next to Kate. "So, what's for breakfast?"

"Peppery Oeufs A la Cantalienne."

"Sounds interesting." The redhead accepted her plate and took a bite. "Hmm, maybe putting a little more nutmeg on this will balance it out."

Rick grabbed the nutmeg and gave it to her. "Better?"

Alexis took another bite. "Yes, a little better."

Kate was just adding some nutmeg to her dish when her phone rang. "Beckett. Okay, we'll be right there."

"What's up?" Rick shoved some of his eggs in his mouth.

"Looks like a turf war between the TMG and ABM. Lots of bodies. I'll need my coffee in a to-go cup." She went to get dressed.

Rick turned to Alexis. "Can you handle cleanup?"

Alexis smiled. "Yes, Dad. Have fun."

* * *

Like she had before her promotion, Katherine Beckett strode into the crime scene like she owned the place. She always paused for a beat before she got out of the car to honor the victim or victims, but then the scene was hers. It was even more pronounced after her promotion to captain because everyone treated her differently now. As nice as that may seem, she wished some things could go back to the way they had been before.

Ryan and Esposito were just arriving too. "Morning, Captain."

"Detectives. You guys have anything more than I do?"

Ryan shook his head. "Just that these gangs hate each other. And that their territories are close enough to share borders."

Esposito fell into step with his captain. "When I was working undercover, I ran into this a lot. Kinda hope no one I knew was involved."

Lanie looked up when they got near. "Hey, so there are four bodies. Three other victims were injured and are heading to the hospital."

"C.O.D.?" Castle was looking around the crime scene.

"Gunshot wounds. Or complications from. I'll have to dig out the bullets to say what happened here."

"Yeah." Beckett looked around the scene. Bullet holes and ricochet marks were everywhere. CSU was out in force documenting the scene and collecting evidence. Ballistics was probably going to be checking bullets for a week if this scene was as bad as it looked. "Any idea how long ago the bloodshed stopped?"

"No more than thirty minutes." Ryan made a note of another security camera for Vikram. "The first calls were to report gunshots. Last couple talked about the bodies."

Beckett heard something. "Did anyone else hear that sound?"

Ryan and Esposito shook their heads. "No."

The sound, which was very faint, happened again. "Help…"

"I just heard it again." Beckett moved in the direction she thought the sound was coming from. "Hello? Anyone here?"

The sound was getting louder. "Help…"

"I hear it now." Esposito caught up to Beckett. "Where are you?"

The voice coughed. "Here. Help."

Beckett rounded a corner. "Hayley!"

She grimaced. "Guess I was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Hayley coughed again. She was leaning against the wall of the alley clutching her stomach. Her shirt was stained red with blood and a small pool was growing beneath her.

Castle took off his suit coat and pressed it to Hayley's middle. "What happened?"

Hayley groaned. "I was checking out something for a client when…" She coughed up some blood. "That's not good."

Ryan was on the phone. "An ambulance is on its way."

"Just hang in there." Beckett turned to the nearest uniforms. "Make sure the paramedics have a clear path."

"Yes, ma'am."

Castle leaned in close. "Hayley, what happened?"

"I was… I… was…" Hayley's eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped where she sat.

"Hayley?"

"Give me some room." Lanie put her hand over Castle's on the bloodied blazer. "Castle, back up."

"Yeah." He stood up and took a step back.

Lanie felt for Hayley's pulse. "It's a bit thready. Ryan, where are they?"

"Not far."

Sirens came into earshot and Beckett stood to greet them. "She's over here!"

The paramedics hopped out of the ambulance and raced to Hayley's side. They launched into their jobs, calling out what they needed. In a few moments, which felt like ages, Hayley was moved to a stretcher and then loaded into the ambulance and rushed from the scene. Beckett wrapped her arms around Castle, trying to comfort him. He barely seemed to notice as he watched the back of the ambulance race away.

"What was she doing here?"

"She said she was investigating something for a client." Beckett put her hands on Castle's cheeks. "She'll be okay. She's a fighter."

"I want to go to the hospital."

"Okay." Beckett turned to Ryan and Esposito. "You guys have the scene?"

"Yeah, we got this. Go."

* * *

Beckett had the siren on the whole way to the hospital. Castle was quiet in the passenger seat. He was worried for his friend. Hayley had been such a help to him with his P.I. business. She was the one who did most of the work, but she had also taught him a lot about investigating things without police around him. She'd even gotten him out of trouble more than a couple times. He wanted to help her now, but there was nothing he could do.

Hayley was being rolled in as they pulled up. "38 year old female, gunshot wound to the abdomen. Lost a lot of blood. Had to intubate on the way over."

"Trauma one is open."

Castle stopped short when he saw Hayley. She was ashen, so pale she looked as though she was on death's door. A tube extended from her mouth to the oxygen bag and an I.V. line was in her arm to provide blood and fluids. Castle was brought back to the day his wife looked like this. He'd thought she would die, but Beckett had survived. He hoped that Hayley would miraculously survive too.

"She looks so bad."

"I know." Beckett pulled Castle into her arms again. "She's strong, though."

They found seats in the waiting room and settled in. At one point, Beckett informed the nurses of who she was and that they were to be updated as soon as there was some news, but for the most part they just sat and waited. Alexis came in not too long after they arrived. She said Ryan had called and that Martha was sending her love and prayers. She then took a seat on her father's other side, her hand clasped with his.

"Captain Beckett?"

"Yes?" Beckett quickly stood. She had lost track of how many hours had passed while they waited.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Beckett's heart sank. "What happened?"

"We did everything we could. There were some… complications. I'm afraid Ms. Shipton didn't make it."

The room felt like it was spinning. "She's…"

"I'm so sorry."

"No!" Alexis collapsed into her father's arms.

Tears were streaming down Castle's face. "May we see her?"

The doctor nodded. "I'll let the surgeons know. We should give them a couple minutes to… get everything ready."

Beckett slumped back into her chair. "I… I thought… I can't believe it."

Castle put an arm around his wife and pulled her close. "I was sure she'd be okay."

Several minutes passed. They stayed huddled together, tears staining their faces. Ryan and Esposito came in, and when they noticed the family's grief, Esposito punched the wall in anger and Ryan cursed under his breath, walking back outside. Lanie came in a moment later and wrapped her arms around Esposito, trying to console him. The loss for them was not as pronounced as it was for the Castle family, but they had still lost a good friend.

The doctor came back in. "You can come in now."

Alexis followed her dad, but at the door she froze. "No, I can't. I…" her voice cracked, "I just can't."

Castle hugged his daughter. "It's okay. You can wait here or go back to the waiting room."

Alexis hugged her father tightly. "I'm going to miss her so much."

"I know." Castle's voice broke too. "I know."

Alexis turned back to the waiting room and Beckett held out her hand to her husband. "Are you ready?"

"No. Let's go."

They opened the door. Hayley's body was still on the operating table, but everything had been cleaned up and a sheet covered most of her body. Her face was visible though. She had been in a lot of pain, but now she looked at peace. If they didn't know better, she could have been sleeping. Castle found her hand under the sheet and held it. He wished he'd been able to do something to save her, but there was nothing he could do.

"She's still warm. I didn't expect that. I mean, I know why; I know the science. I just… I didn't think…"

"I'm sorry, Castle."

"She was my friend. One of my best friends." He struggled to hold in a sob. "We need to figure out who killed her."

Beckett nodded. "We will. When we find who all was involved in the shootout, we'll find her murderer too."

"I know you will. No matter how long it takes." Castle straightened up. "I'm sorry this happened to you, Hayley. I'm so sorry."

* * *

**A/N: This was a tough chapter to write. I'm hoping I was able to do it justice. Stay tuned!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: I'd like to thank a Guest, DREAMWRITER 08, southerngirl1, and TORONTOSUN for their comments. This chapter starts right were the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6

The mood was somber when Beckett returned to the precinct. Most of the detectives hadn't known Hayley very well, but they knew the Captain did. They also knew Hayley was one of the few good P.I.'s in New York, so her loss was felt by all. Castle hadn't known what to do with himself, so he'd come to the precinct too. Now he stood staring out of Beckett's office windows, his breathing the only thing that said he was still alive.

"Castle, are you sure you want to be here?"

He shrugged. "I don't know where else to be right now."

"You could be at home, with Alexis."

"She's not at home." He turned from the window and sat in a chair across from his wife. "She went to Hayley's place. Mother's with her."

There was a knock on the door frame. "Captain Beckett?"

"Tory. What are you doing here?"

"Esposito called. He said your current analyst had a personal connection to one of the victims. Thought it'd be best to have unbiased eyes on the surveillance footage."

Beckett put her head in her hands. "I didn't even think about Vikram."

"Does he know… yet?"

"Probably." Beckett stood and headed for the analyst's office. "Vikram?"

"I heard." Vikram was sitting with his head in his hands. "Did she suffer?"

Beckett turned to Tory and Castle. "Give me some space, guys." She closed the door and sat near Vikram. "She did. For a bit. I'm so sorry."

"Did she… never mind."

"Did she ask about you?" Beckett watched him fidget. "She asked me to tell you that she cared for you. I thought she'd be fine, so I told her to tell you herself."

Vikram sniffled. "Thanks, Captain. I wish I'd come to the hospital."

"There's nothing you could have done."

"I know. But I would have at least been able to say goodbye."

"Right. I'm sorry for your loss, Vikram. Truly."

"Thanks." He rubbed his face. "I think I'd like to take a couple days off, if that's alright."

"Of course. Tory's going to be taking over for this case."

"I've gotten to know her. She's good."

"She worked here before you did." Beckett stood and gave Vikram a hug. "Take care of yourself. I know what it's like to lose people. It can destroy you. Talk to someone, okay?"

He nodded. "Thanks, Kate."

Beckett opened the door to let Tory in. She gave Vikram a hug and her condolences and let him leave the room before she sat down at his station and got to work. She promised to let Beckett know when she had everything and the Captain went back to the bullpen. Ryan and Esposito were putting the information they had so far on the murder board. One picture went up very hesitantly and Beckett knew why. This was the spot they'd found Hayley.

"What else did you find at the crime scene?"

"There was a gun thrown into a dumpster a couple blocks from the crime scene." Esposito pointed to a photo. "Ballistics has it now. CSU found a few prints on it. Hopefully we'll get a name to match. Unis and cadets are combing the area looking for more throwaways."

"All the blood has been swabbed. Obviously most will match all the victims. We're hoping some will belong to others who were injured."

"Good. Keep me posted." Beckett returned to her office and found Castle. "I wondered were you went."

"You didn't need me there to talk to Vikram, so I came back here." He was back to staring out the window. "I feel like it should rain, you know?"

"Yeah." Beckett sat at her desk.

Castle sighed. "Did Lanie find something yet?"

"Not yet. She would have texted me if she had." Her phone buzzed. "There she is. Coming?"

"Yes."

* * *

"Hey, Lanie."

"Hey, girl." Lanie wrapped her arms around Beckett. "I'm sorry." She stepped back and turned to Castle. "Come here." She gave him a long hug too. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you."

"What did you find, Lanie?"

Lanie launched into her report, refusing to break that tone of voice. "As you know, four male victims were D.O.A. One more died en route to the hospital, so that makes five male victims. Hayley Shipton was injured in the firefight, but passed away at the hospital. Now for what you don't know."

"Yes, please."

"I couldn't do an autopsy on Hayley."

Beckett's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"When I was doing the preliminary exam at the hospital, I found this in her wallet." Lanie handed Beckett an evidence bag with an autopsy exemption card in it. "She is an Orthodox Jew. They don't allow autopsies. Technically, if her life hadn't been in danger, she shouldn't have even had a surgery."

"So… we don't have any way of knowing how she died?"

"I didn't say that. I have the surgeon's notes and the operation video. Plus they recovered the bullet. I just can't do an in depth exam. What I can tell you is that it looks like she was hit by a ricochet. She wasn't a target."

Castle was struggling to control his emotions. "You're telling me that her death was just an accident? No one is going to be held accountable?"

"Castle…"

He turned and walked out. Lanie watched his back as he went down the hallway. "I'm sorry about this, Kate. There really is no good way to break that kind of news."

"I know. He's… struggling to understand this."

"Shall I continue?"

"Yes, please."

"Ballistics has all the bullets I recovered, so they'll tell you how many guns were involved."

Lanie went over the results with Beckett body by body. All of the victims had GSR on their hands, confirming that they had been shooters themselves. While they were going over Lanie's findings, the body of another one of the injured men arrived. His body showed signs of the operation he'd had before he succumbed to his injures. Lanie made sure the surgeon's notes had come with the body and the coroner's assistants left.

"Make that six male victims. And the last victim is still in critical condition. If he takes a turn for the worse, I may have his body here by the end of the day."

"Where is Hayley's body?"

"The hospital will send it straight to the funeral home." Lanie sighed. "I don't mean to sound so cold. It's just… I…"

"It makes it easier to deal with when you don't think of her as a friend."

"Yeah." Lanie handed the stack of reports to Beckett. "I know you have a job to do, but take care of him."

"I try."

"I know you do."

Castle was waiting by the elevator for Beckett. "I shouldn't have stormed out like that…"

"Castle, she's your friend. To hear that her death was an accident is never an easy thing to accept."

"Are we sure it was an accident? She has enemies."

Beckett's phone buzzed again. "Tory has something to show us."

* * *

Ryan and Esposito were waiting outside the A/V office for Beckett and Castle. "Hey, Captain. Tory says Castle may want to wait outside."

Castle bristled. "Why?"

"Hayley is on camera."

"I need to know what happened." Castle walked into the office.

Beckett shrugged and followed her husband inside. "What do you have for us, Tory?"

Tory's eyes were watching Castle. "I haven't gone through all of the footage yet, but I do have enough to show you what happened."

"Play it."

The playback opened on two groups of men acting tough and yelling at each other. There was no sound, but a cloud of smoke on one side and a man crumpling on the other marked when the shooting started. Hayley had walked into frame during the yelling, a slip of paper in her fingers. She'd glanced at the fight, but ignored it when she turned back to looking at the building numbers.

The first shot had Hayley whipping around to look at what was happening. The groups were moving apart as more guns came out and more shots were fired. Hayley was backing up toward the alley they'd found her in when her body jerked. She curled in on herself and when she straightened a little, she looked at a bloodied hand. She then stumbled into the alley and out of camera range.

Tory stopped the video. "I isolated a few frames." She pulled them up on the other screen. "It shows that the bullet that hit Ms. Shipton ricocheted off this light pole."

Castle was looking at the floor. "You're sure?"

"There were no guns pointed in her direction when she was hit, so yes, I'm sure."

Castle sighed. "I was hoping someone was responsible…"

"These guys are responsible, Castle." Esposito pointed at the screen. "They are responsible. Even if they can't be charged with her murder, they are still on the hook for her death."

"Yeah, Castle. We'll get them."

Beckett put a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Let me take you home, Rick."

Castle looked around the room and then nodded. "Okay."

* * *

First United Bank was closed for the day. Two security guards were on duty, one in the control room and one on the floor. Everything was dark outside, the false twilight of being in a city of tall buildings. The guard on the floor was getting bored. There wasn't a lot to do right now, but he had to patrol the floor anyway. He went around the room, checking that doors were closed and locked and that nothing was moving.

"Come in, Gary. Everything looks good."

"_Copy, Peter. Ready to check the vault?_"

"Open it up."

Peter headed for the vault and waited for Gary to unlock it. Once this check was done, the vault would be locked until 8am when the bank opened again. The light on the door went from red to green and Peter pulled the door to the vault open. He was about to step inside when he felt a sharp pinch on his neck. Before he could even question it, two hands gripped his shoulders and guided him to the floor. He was out before he reached it.

A masked woman secured Peter's wrists together and walked into the vault. She was looking for the largest box and didn't have a lot of time to look for it. Fortunately there was only one really large box. She'd stolen and made an impression of the master key a week ago and used the keys she'd made to open the box. That's when she saw what was inside. Rows of shelves with cardboard boxes on them. This security box was like a vault within the vault.

She walked down the aisle, looking for a box that was labeled HK4112013ED. On the third row, she found the box and opened it. The object she was looking for was inside. She took it out and put it in the bag slung across her back before putting the box back and getting out of the security "box". She closed the box and headed out of the vault too. She was just closing the vault door when she heard the security guard's radio squeal.

"_Peter, come in. Please respond._"

The women slunk into a shadow and waited. The guard, whose name was Gary according to his name tag, came running toward the vault to find Peter tied up in front of the door. Gary ran up to Peter and put his fingers on his partner's neck to check for a pulse. A moment later he felt a sharp pain at his neck. Within seconds, he was laying unconscious next to Peter.

The masked woman secured his wrists together too. "Amateurs."

* * *

**A/N: I'm hoping I'm doing justice to Castle's reactions. Let me know what you think. Stay tuned!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: I'd like to thank DREAMWRITER 08, southerngirl1, and TORONTOSUN for their reviews. TORONTOSUN: **I'm glad Rick's reactions seem genuine. Thank you. **southerngirl1: **Thank you. **DREAMWRITER 08: **At least in New York, it is possible to get an exemption from autopsy based on religious beliefs. I'm not sure where else that is allowed. And I'm not sure if the hospital would send a body directly to a funeral home or not; I couldn't find anything one way or the other, so I made a best guess. **This chapter begins the following morning (again, not sure if a funeral could be done that quickly, but I do know Jewish custom is to hold the funeral as soon as possible, so that's what I'm going with.) ****Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Rick was dressed in black and standing in front of the mirror. "I'm surprised the funeral is happening so soon after… she died."

Kate walked back into the bedroom. "Well, she is Jewish. Burial takes place fairly quickly after death."

"Yeah, I know. That's not what surprises me. It's just… she never told me."

"What?"

"She never mentioned she was Jewish. Never said she was any religion. I'm starting to feel like I never really knew her."

Kate straightened Rick's tie. "She played a lot of things close to the chest. Maybe she didn't want us worrying about anything."

"I guess."

Kate's phone rang. "Beckett. When? Thank you."

"What happened?"

"First United Bank was broken into last night. They're not sure if anything is missing."

"So, you're going…"

"Don't be ridiculous. Hayley's funeral comes first. The bank is Robbery's case."

* * *

The service was beautiful. Unbeknownst to Castle, Hayley had arranged everything for her service not long after she'd permanently relocated to New York. The rabbi for the Orthodox Congregation called Talmud Torah Adereth El officiated at the graveside service. As was custom, it was a closed casket service. Hayley's coffin was simple, also part of Jewish custom, but it was still a beautiful casket.

Castle had been selected to be one of the pall bearers and he tried to hold in his grief as he carried out his duty. Afterward he stood with his family. Alexis was crying softly to his left and Kate was standing stoically to his right. Castle tried not to cry as he watched the service, but several tears escaped his eyes. That was until Hayley's coffin was lowered into the ground; he could no longer contain his grief then.

The Castle family stayed by the grave after the service. Hayley's coffin was by now covered with earth and Alexis had taken a seat by the temporary marker. It bore two names; the name they had known her by and the Hebrew name she must have taken after her conversion to the Jewish faith. According to the marker, the name she had selected was Dinah Marilou Shafir. Castle didn't know what it meant to Hayley, but he could feel that it suited her well.

Castle cleared his throat. "I'm glad she'd taken care of all of this. I wouldn't have known where to begin."

Beckett nodded. "It was a beautiful service. Do you know if her mother came?"

Castle shook his head. "She's back in prison."

Alexis sighed. "I miss her so much. She taught me a lot. She may have been one of my best friends."

Castle squatted next to his daughter. "I know. I'm going to miss her too."

A woman walked up to them. "I was hoping I wouldn't miss the service. Guess I didn't make it in time. I'm sorry."

"Rita." Beckett was surprised to see her. "We were told you were dead."

"It was close." She pulled her turtleneck collar down and showed them a scar running from her ear toward her clavicle. "Hunt showed up just in time."

"Is he here?" Castle stood.

"No, he couldn't come." Rita laid a flower at the temporary marker. "He's on a mission abroad. Since I was in the country, he asked me to come and represent him, but I didn't get here in time."

"Did you know Hayley?"

"We'd met briefly. She wasn't aware of my relationship to you." Rita looked at Alexis. "We never got to meet before. I'm Rita. I'm married to your grandfather."

Alexis wiped away her tears. "Sorry this is how you're meeting me."

"Don't be ridiculous. This is exactly what meeting someone at a funeral would look like. Don't apologize for mourning." Rita glanced around. "Forgive me for showing up only to leave again, but I don't enjoy being out in the open for long. I'm sure you can understand."

"Of course. Just don't stay away for so long next time." Castle gave her a hug. "Give my father a hug for me."

Rita smiled. "I will. Take care of each other."

"Goodbye, Rita." Rita walked away and Beckett turned to Castle. "I have to go to work. It's time to bring the leaders of these gangs in for questioning."

* * *

Esposito and Ryan were still in their black suits when Beckett arrived. "Karpowski's team grabbed the two gang leaders for us. They're stewing in separate interrogation rooms."

"Remind me to thank her later." Beckett accepted the folders Ryan handed her. "You guys take I1, I'll take I2?" She held out one of the folders.

Esposito shook his head. "I know the guy in I1. I'd rather not talk to him."

"Are you scared, or would he be distracted?"

"He would be distracted." Esposito took the folder for the perp in I2.

"Okay, I've got I1." Beckett walked into the first interrogation room. "Juan Hernandez. Suspected of grand theft auto, burglary, assault, assault with a deadly weapon, extortion, racketeering, and murder. That is quite the jacket. So, I guess yesterday was just another Tuesday for you?"

Hernandez smirked. "Something like that."

"What'd you do yesterday?"

"Oh, you know. Went grocery shopping, did some laundry, took out the trash."

"Was any of this around East 112th and 3rd Ave.?"

"Nah, I didn't need to go down there."

Beckett nodded. "So, this isn't you?" She slapped a still from the surveillance footage on the table. "Because that looks a lot like you."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. I was also hanging with my boys. Musta slipped my mind."

"You know, that's interesting, because I think being involved in a gang shootout would be kinda memorable." Beckett placed a still of the shootings on top of the last one. "You want to revise your story?"

"Hey, they started shooting at us! We got the right to defend ourselves!"

"Look, it doesn't really matter who started shooting whom. Either way, I have six bodies down in the morgue, one comatose patient in the hospital, and I just got here from the funeral of someone who you'd probably call collateral damage." A picture of Hayley was put on the table.

Hernandez shot upright in his chair when he saw the picture. "She was there? She got killed?" Beckett nodded. "What have we done?"

That was not the response Beckett had been expecting. "What?"

"I knew Hayley. She helped me find one of my boys when he was in trouble. Shit." Hernandez put his head in his hands. "What happened?"

Beckett put the second photo on top of the pile. "She was hit by a ricochet from this man's gun. I want a name and where to find him."

"Hector. Hector Garvalo. But he's not alive anymore. He got hit while we were running away. Died in the car. We left him in an alley in Queens. I don't know if his body was found yet."

"Where?"

Hernandez gave Beckett the location. "So, you knew Hayley, too?"

"She worked for my husband." Beckett pointed to the men across from Hernandez's crew. "Do you have names for these men?"

Hernandez nodded. "You got a pen?" Beckett handed him a marker and he labeled the men he knew. "That's all of them."

"Why were you fighting with these guys?"

"Some old guy came to me, said he'd heard that Corado's crew was bad mouthing me and my guys. Said they were talking about wiping us out and taking our territory. I couldn't let that happen. Look, me and my boys, we do bad things. But we also protect our neighborhood."

"Who was this man? Can you describe him?"

"Old. A white guy with white hair. That's all I'm saying. I wouldn't have even listened to him if I didn't know him from the neighborhood."

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

"Thomas Corado." Esposito and Ryan walked into the room. "You've got quite the jacket."

"All those charges are alleged."

"Even the two convictions?" Ryan sat down.

"Even those." Corado stretched. "What am I here for this week?"

"Murder."

"Who did I murder?"

"Right now, there are bodies in the morgue without names, but I'm sure the Glock we took off you will be connected to at least one of them." Esposito set the picture of the two gangs posturing in front of Corado. "We know you were there, Thomas."

"So? I was there. What's it to you?"

"Is this you firing the first shot?" Ryan set the still showing Corado firing his gun on the table. "Because that sure looks like you."

Corado's swagger faded. "So?"

"So, that guy you shot is down in the morgue. That's second-degree murder."

"Which, to a two-time loser like you, means you'll be going away for a long time." Esposito turned to Ryan. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"I would." Ryan turned back to Corado. "I guess that means we can offer a choice of prisons."

Espostio picked right up on the teamwork banter they were so good at. "Yeah. One is full of TMG and KBU guys."

"Both of them hate ABM guys."

"The other has your friends and CAG guys. Now, CAG guys also hate ABM guys, but at least you'll have some friends to protect you."

Ryan leaned forward and laced his fingers together. "All you gotta do is start talking."

Corado looked between the two detectives for a minute before caving in. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"Who are the TMG guys who were there?" Esposito held out a marker.

Corado took the marker and started to label the opposing gang. "I was just trying to protect my neighborhood, you know? A guy told me they were going to take us all out and claim our territory for them."

"Hold up, what guy?"

"Old, white dude. I've seen him around my neighborhood a bit. He said he overheard the TMG guys planning to take over my neighborhood. I had to stop them." He slid the still back. "Those are all the guys I know."

"Sit tight." Ryan and Esposito met Beckett in the Observation Room. "Our guy says an old, white guy told him his rival was about to take over his neighborhood."

"Mine too." Beckett looked through the windows at the suspects. "Why start a gang war between Hispanic and White Supremacist gangs? What is this old man trying to do?"

"No idea." Esposito handed Beckett the labeled still. "These are all the names he gave us. You want us to run them down?"

"I'll send out uniforms and talk to the gang units to round them up. What I want you to do is get in touch with the 103rd precinct. We're looking for the body of Hector Garvalo."

"Who's Hector Garvalo?"

"He's the guy whose bullet killed Hayley."

* * *

While the boys were looking for Hector Garvalo's body, Beckett opened the files Robbery had sent her about the bank vault heist. They had found evidence of the way the thief had gotten in and had confirmed that the item related to the Bretz and Coven file theft was missing too. Not only that, but the guards had both been drugged and had their hands zip tied together as well as disarmed.

_Drugging the guards?_ The woman who stole the file had almost shot Esposito. Was this thief someone new or the same woman again? And if it was the same woman, why had she let the security guards live? Beckett turned to look more closely at the way the thief had gotten in. A window in the skylight had been opened and a winch system had been bolted to the roof so the thief could lower themselves from above.

If the thief had come in from any of the doors or windows on the sides of the building, they would have triggered the alarms. The skylight was hard to get to without using the internal roof access, so the bank had not bothered putting an alarm system on the skylight. The thief had somehow known that and had exploited that weakness. They were very smart. Beckett emailed the Robbery Captain to look for a woman fitting the file theft suspect's description casing the bank weeks in advance and returned her attention to the other cases on her plate.

* * *

**A/N: The gang names are real gangs in New York, but the demographics and gang relationships are made up. For those who are interested, TMG – Tru Money Gang, ABM – All Bout Money, CAG – Columbus Ave Gang, and KBU – Killbrook Up. Stay tuned!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: I'd like to thank southerngirl1, castlegeek89, and TORONTOSUN for their reviews. castlegeek89: **I'm sorry you didn't like Hayley in the show. I did enjoy watching her, and while I think she was very stubborn and secretive in many instances, I also think that was part of her character's story arc. She was meant to be way more private and secretive in the beginning as she learned to trust Castle and Beckett. **TORONTOSUN: **I'm glad you think that I did a good job capturing Hayley's voice in this story. **This chapter picks up not long after the last one ended. ****Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8

"Dr. Hammerback is a great M.E." Lanie sat across from Beckett. "He did the autopsy on Hector Garvlo."

"What do you got for me?"

"The late Mr. Garvalo was hit under his right arm. The bullet bounced off a rib, went through his right lung in a downward trajectory, and lodged in his pelvic bone. Normally, with prompt treatment, an injury like that is survivable. In Hector's case, the bullet nicked the Portal Vein on the way through. He died of internal exsanguination."

"Painful?" Beckett hoped it was.

"Yes, but not right away."

"What do you mean?"

"Normally when you get shot, it's in the front or back where a lot of nerves are. Under the arm lacks a lot of pain sensing nerves." Lanie stood up and came behind Beckett's desk. "Do you mind if I use you?"

"Go ahead."

Lanie raised Beckett's arm. "You can feel me poke you here." She poked Beckett under her arm.

"Yes."

"Compare that to when I poke you here." She poked the front of Beckett's shoulder.

"Huh, I can feel more of your finger at my shoulder then under my arm. That's from the location of certain nerves?"

"Yes." Lanie took her seat again. "Combine that with the adrenaline rush of being in a firefight and he probably didn't feel a thing until they were a few blocks from the scene."

"And by then it was too late."

"Exactly." Lanie handed Beckett the autopsy report. "I'm sorry you couldn't prosecute him."

"Karma got him. It's not justice, but it'll have to do." Beckett glanced at the folder. "Thanks, Lanie."

"You got it."

Esposito kissed his wife as she left and he came in. "Captain, the gang units have rounded up most of the shooters. All of them are clamming up and demanding lawyers."

"Who's still unaccounted for?"

"Hector Garvalo was on that list, but I let them know he's deceased. The other names are Keven Jamison, Alejandro 'Crispy' Salizar, Jasper Garcia, and Javier Alvarado." He hesitated.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's Crispy. I think his records… they seem a bit… off."

The gang unit's Captain came in. "That's because he's an undercover cop. He's sitting with I.A.B. right now. We put him on the list to protect his cover."

"What has he said so far?" Beckett stood and sat against the front of her desk.

"He was there, but he never fired his weapon. And he tried to save Garvalo. Salizar is the reason his body was found. He called in an anonymous tip. Risked his life to do that."

"Are you pulling him out?"

"Haven't made that decision yet. I guess it'll depend on what happens with your case. Why?"

"If you're keeping him in, we can interrogate him like a perp. Might help with maintaining his cover."

The gang unit's Captain thought about it. "I'll let you know."

"You know where to find me." Beckett turned back to Esposito when the other Captain left. "What else do you have for me?"

"Ballistics has tested some of the seized guns. These are the ones that were at the scene, so far at least." Esposito handed Beckett the report. "They're working on the rest now."

"And we've confirmed these gang members were there using the security footage?"

"Ryan's working on it right now with Tory."

"Thanks, Esposito."

He didn't move. "What do you want us to do?"

"Keep doing the interrogations. I know it seems like running your head against a brick wall, but you never know; one of them might crack."

"You got it."

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

Castle had stayed at Hayley's graveside. He had his phone out and was researching what Hayley's Hebrew name meant. Dinah meant "the avenged one," Marilou meant "warrior," and Shafir meant "sapphire." He thought it was interesting that she had chosen that name and he wondered even more what it meant to her. Marilou made sense; Hayley was a warrior. She'd always impressed him with her strength, fighting prowess, and resilience. Maybe that's why this grief hurt so much.

A man walked up to him. "Sholem Aleikhem. It is not customary to grieve this much."

"I'm not Jewish, Rabbi. I'll grieve in my own way." Castle sighed. "I'm sorry, that came out far more rudely than I meant it."

"I understand, and I do not mean to be rude myself, Mr. Castle. I only wish to help you process this tragedy."

"Forgive me. I've not been myself since she passed."

"Who was she to you?"

"A friend. A very good friend. I… I haven't lost someone like this." Castle thought about it. "Well, my wife's father was murdered. And that hurt a lot too. But we weren't with him when he died, and the funeral wasn't so soon after his death."

The Rabbi nodded. "I know she died violently, but I like to believe that she is at peace now."

"Did you know her well, Rabbi?"

"Not so well as I would have liked. She was a member of my congregation, yes, but she didn't come to Shabbat services very often. I think she felt that worship was between her and Yahweh. Perhaps she felt coming to prayer services was unnecessary."

"She never mentioned she was Jewish." Castle looked down at the temporary marker. "I'd like to get her a permanent marker. Did she have any stipulations for it?"

"She wanted her given name on it, and she wanted her Hebrew name under that in Hebrew. Besides that, she didn't leave any other instructions."

"Thank you, Rabbi." Castle held out his hand and the Rabbi shook it. "I'll take care of it."

"Kol Tuv. Do not forget to remember the dead as they were."

* * *

None of the gang members cracked. Ryan and Tory were able to confirm that all of the men they had in custody had been involved in the shooting though, so they could hold them all. And ballistics had weeded out the guns that hadn't been involved, though some of the bullets collected from the scene didn't match a recovered or seized gun. Esposito had arranged for warrants to be signed for all the men in custody so that uniforms could make another, more though search.

It was the old man that was bugging Beckett. Neither of those neighborhoods had an overwhelmingly Caucasian population, and most Caucasians in that area were young or middle aged. An old, white man would stand out in those areas, except he didn't seem to. Both gang leaders remembered seeing him in their neighborhood often enough that they thought he belonged, but they couldn't, or wouldn't, describe him. And then there was the fact that the shooting had happened because of what he had said. What would a gang war give this mystery man?

Castle walked in. "The house is lonely."

"We've made some progress. A lot of arrests. But someone was pulling the strings."

Castle sat across from his wife. "What do you mean?"

"Both gang leaders say an old, white man told them that the other gang was talking smack and planning to take over their rival's territory."

"That's why they were there that day?"

Beckett nodded. "I'm afraid so."

"I wonder…" Castle stood and left the office.

"Castle?" She followed him.

"I'm going to the office. Maybe I can find out who Hayley was working for."

"Talk to me, Castle. What are you talking about?"

"I want to know who gave Hayley the case that took her to that area in the first place."

"Why?"

Castle hit the button for the elevator. "What if she was sent there to be killed? What if that 'old man' wanted her dead, but didn't want to do it himself?"

The elevator arrived. "Wait in the lobby. I'm coming with you." Beckett headed back to her office, grabbed her coat and keys, and took the stairs down to the lobby. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

Castle unlocked the door to the office and entered. "I'm going to look at the security footage. You want to help me narrow down when the client came in?"

"Yeah. I'll start with her desk." Beckett woke up Hayley's computer. "Any idea what her password is?"

"It unlocked with her voice. There wasn't a specific phrase, though."

Beckett grabbed her phone. "I think I've got a message from Hayley on here still." She played the message and the computer unlocked. "Nice. Um, I have a bookmarked page where she looked up the address."

"What's the folder called?"

"Let's see, uh, 'Johnson, Q.'"

Castle grabbed the log-in book. "I've got a Quinn Johnson here. They came in four days ago at 11:30 am." He went to his computer and called up the security footage. "Who are you?"

Beckett had entered the name on her phone. "Database has almost two hundred Quinns, or some variation of that in the NYC area. Oldest male is in his eighties."

Castle paused the video. "Well, she is not male or in her eighties." He turned the screen around so Beckett could see the blonde woman on the screen.

"No, she is not." Beckett took a closer look. "Does she look familiar to you?"

"A little."

Beckett took a picture. "I'll have Tory run the picture; see what she comes up with."

"Okay." Castle looked disappointed.

"You okay?"

"No." Castle fell into his chair. "I just… I thought we'd find out who the old man was and what his motivation was. I was hoping to find the story. But we didn't."

"Maybe we don't have all the information for the story yet. We still have to find this woman."

"I guess."

"Come back to the station with me. Let's figure out who Quinn Johnson is."

Castle stood up. "Right behind you."

* * *

Tory ran the picture and a Massachusetts driver's license for Quinnley Johnson popped up. "She's twenty-seven and lives in Boston. I'll see what else I can find."

"Why would a Bostonian be asking a New York Private Eye to look into a Harlem apartment?"

"She's moving here." Tory pulled up the information on the big screen. "She advertised needing an apartment for when her company transfers her to the Manhattan Branch. She works for First Eastern Bank."

Castle sighed. "So, she gets a response about an available apartment, hires Hayley to check it out, and Hayley gets killed."

"That's what it looks like." Beckett turned to Castle. "You okay?"

"No, but at least I know what happened now. At least I have the story." He stood. "I'm going to go. I need some air."

"Okay. Be safe."

"Always."

* * *

Castle returned to his P.I. office to find a bouquet of lilies on the door step. He took the card off the top and read,

"_I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't know Ms. Shipton for long, but she seemed like someone who was very special. I'm sorry that my involvement in her life may have led to her death. Please know that my account has been paid in full and I will not be moving to Manhattan. I've done enough damage in this city._

"_Quinnley Johnson_"

Castle picked up the bouquet and carried it inside, setting the vase on Hayley's desk. "I'll miss you, Hayley."

Alexis was sitting on the couch behind him. "So will I. Who are the lilies from?"

"Quinnley Johnson. Hayley was looking into an apartment for her and blames herself for Hayley's death. Even though it was an accident."

"That was nice of her." Alexis' voice caught in her throat. "Will you sit with me?"

"Always, pumpkin. Always."

* * *

**A/N: I'm going to take a week off of posting so I can spend some time with visiting family. I should be back on the 12th. Stay tuned!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: I didn't intend to take as long a break between cases, but with the way the last two weeks went, that's just what ended up happening. So sorry about that. I'd like to thank DREAMWRITER08, TORNOTOSUN, and southerngirl1 for their reviews. southerngirl1: **Quinnley was just a girl interested in knowing about an available apartment in New York. **TORONTOSUN: **Thank you! **DREAMWRITER08: **There is always a story.

**This case seemed a bit disjointed in the first draft, so I rearranged the order of some of the scenes. Hopefully it flows a bit better now. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9

Commissioner James Hardlowe had a love-hate relationship with official events. On one hand, he loved what they were for, at least usually, because the officers needed the morale boosts. On the other, he hated the cameras and attention. People often accused him of forgetting what "life in the trenches" was like. It might be somewhat true, but that wasn't on purpose. He hadn't become a media whore. He did still remember those trenches.

Today's event was the perfect example of that love-hate relationship. Today, they had honored a cop who had given his life to stop a school shooting. They had also honored that hero's equally heroic partner, a man who had been injured before he could shoot the gunman. Together, they had saved hundreds of kids. Hardlowe was proud of those men and he felt the media's presence at the event had been disrespectful and rude the entire time. Hardlowe hoped they would show more respect on the evening news tonight.

He was so consumed by his thoughts that he was stunned when the elevator doors opened on a blood trail. "What the…" He and his aids followed the trail and found it was leading to a body. Standing above that body was Deputy Chief Gates. "Victoria?"

She turned around and revealed bloody hands. "I promise, I found her this way."

Hardlowe turned to his secretary. "Hold that elevator. And call Captain Beckett."

* * *

Beckett had just gotten into the underground parking for home when the call came in. She was still in her dress blues and Castle was in a suit, but the location of the scene said speed was of the essence, so changing their clothes wasn't an option. She pulled into an empty space so she could turn around and they headed to 1PP with the gumball flashing. Beckett handed Castle her phone and told him to text Ryan and Esposito.

"Already done." Castle held up his phone. "They said they're on their way. So, what's the scene?"

"Woman was found dead on the top brass floor of 1PP. Gates was standing over the body."

"Wait, what? 'Iron Gates?' Do they think she did it?"

"They're holding her at the scene." Beckett stopped at a light until a cab got out of her way. "According to dispatch, her hands were covered in blood."

"Which M.E. are we getting?"

"Lanie."

Castle sat back in his seat and nodded. "Good."

Beckett pulled up in front of 1PP and handed her car over to a uniform who offered to park it for her. The couple then headed inside and signed into the crime scene at the front desk. An elevator had been held for them and they were whisked upstairs. Beckett performed her ritual of honoring the victim on the way up, so she was ready when the doors opened on the crime scene. She stepped out of the elevator while pulling on gloves.

There was an elevator that was stopped on this floor. A blood trail led from it to the body in the middle of the top brass' floor. Lanie hadn't arrived yet, so Beckett did a visual assessment without her. The woman was face down in a small pool of blood. She had also been on her side and back at one point; there was blood soaked into her clothes on almost every side. She didn't look familiar, so she didn't work in an area of 1PP that the Captain had frequented. It also appeared that her injures were all sustained on her front, so she had seen her attacker. _Maybe she fought back_.

"Captain, you didn't need to come down personally." The Commissioner was making his way toward her.

"No offense, but I'm more hands-on than my predecessors, Commissioner." She held up her gloved hands when he extended his for a handshake. "Can you tell me what you saw when you first arrived?"

"We haven't touched anything. The only thing we did was take Victoria to an empty office. We're waiting for CSU to process her." He noticed Castle walking around the crime scene. "You brought your husband?"

"He's crime scene trained. Do you know who this woman is, sir?"

"Are you expecting me to know everyone who works in this building? Or are you… suggesting… something else?" The Commissioner was bristling.

"I'm trying to figure out how she ended up on a secure floor, sir. Either she had access, or her killer did. Do you know her?"

The Commissioner relaxed. "Sorry, Captain. No, I don't know her. Perhaps your M.E. will be able to give you an I.D."

Lanie headed straight for the body. "Hey, Kate."

"Hey, Lanie." Beckett turned back to Hardlowe. "I'd like to talk to Deputy Chief Gates."

"You're sure you can be objective?"

"You wouldn't have called my team if you didn't think we could."

Hardlowe nodded and pointed to the office. "She's in there with a few uniforms. I'll make sure your team is given full access to the building."

"Thank you, sir."

Beckett and Castle headed to the office and were let inside. "Sir."

Gates looked up. "Captain. I'm not surprised they called you in. Your team is the best."

"We try. I need to ask you some questions. I'm assuming you've already been read your rights?"

"I have. Look, Beckett, I know you have a job to do, but if it's all the same to you, I'd like my rep. present. And I would like to have been processed first. I know you're the best, but…"

"I understand. I'll send CSU in when they arrive."

Ryan and Esposito, still in their dress blues too, were just arriving when Beckett and Castle emerged from the office. "Where do you want us, Captain?"

"Get started with the interviews and get Vikram on the surveillance footage when he arrives."

"You got it."

Beckett headed for Lanie. "I know you only just got here, but…"

"Her name is Evelynn Quick." Lanie held up the evidence bag with an I.D. badge in it. "According to this badge, she works in the call center downstairs."

"She's a 911 operator. I'll make sure to check in downstairs. What else?"

"I haven't turned her yet. You might want to move."

Beckett backed up and Lanie set out a tarp. With the help of an assistant M.E., Lanie rolled Quick's body onto the tarp. The front of her shirt was saturated in blood, but the cuts where the knife had penetrated the shirt were visible. She had been stabbed at least six times. Lanie would be able to provide more details on the wounds later, but Beckett could tell that the attack had been brutal. Quick's attacker had been enraged.

"C.O.D. will probably be sharp force trauma. I count six right now." Lanie looked up at Beckett. "I'll be able to tell you more later."

"Thanks, Lanie." She crouched to whisper. "Look, this case is going to be under a lot of scrutiny."

"I'll keep you posted. Don't worry, girl. I've got your back."

CSU finally arrived and Jo Danville went straight to Beckett. "Captain. Where do you want me?"

"Deputy Chief Gates needs to be processed. Can I put you in charge of that?"

"You got it."

Castle stopped by Beckett. "I'm not sure the killer had legal access to this floor. Follow me."

Beckett followed her husband to the elevator Quick had been in. "What'd you find?"

"When we arrived, there was a sign in front of this elevator that said it was out of order. But she got up here using that elevator. I think the security of this elevator was bypassed. Look."

Beckett looked at what Castle was pointing to. The panel with the keycard scanner on it looked like it was loose. Beckett reached out with a gloved hand and pulled on it gently. The panel came off the wall of the elevator a bit more. The Captain called over a Crime Scene Tech and had them examine the panel carefully. They took pictures, dusted it for prints, and then peeled the cover off completely to get a look inside.

"It looks like someone installed a bypass to this elevator. We'll take it apart and let you know what we find."

Beckett nodded. "Thanks." She pushed the elevator call button with Castle at her side. "That means the suspect pool got a lot deeper."

Castle nodded. "Anyone who had access to this building is a suspect. Where do we start?"

"Let's let Vikram do his job before we start figuring out who did what and when. I'm going to talk to Quick's supervisor downstairs. Coming?"

"Lead the way."

* * *

"This is just awful." Supervisor Washburne shut the door to his office. "The whole building is talking about it. We can't believe something like this happened here."

"What can you tell me about Evelynn Quick?" Beckett took the offered seat.

Washburne sat down. "She was very normal. She worked hard, made friends easily, was nice to everyone. I couldn't have asked for a better 911 operator. She always managed to keep callers calm."

"Did she seem different lately?"

"You know, now that you mention it, a little. Nothing major, just… I don't know. A little off, I guess. I don't know, maybe it had something to do with her boyfriend."

Castle glanced at Beckett. "Her boyfriend?"

"She helped him get a job here. Tech support. I don't really know him. I think his name was Frank."

"Do you have any idea why she was killed on the fourteenth floor?"

Washburne shifted in his chair. "I can only guess. She didn't have clearance to go up there."

Castle leaned forward. "If you had to guess…"

"Look, Captain, Mr. Castle, I didn't know Evelynn well enough for her to tell me everything. Maybe her boyfriend could tell you?"

Beckett stood. "Thank you for your time."

"No problem. I just wish I could be more help."

They shook hands with Washburne and headed back to the elevators. "We need to find the boyfriend."

Beckett looked at her phone. "Let's talk to Vikram first. He thinks he might have something."

The elevator arrived. "Which floor?"

"Eighth."

Castle pressed the button. "Is it just me, or did Washburne seem nervous when you asked about Evelynn being on the fourteenth floor?"

"It's not just you." The elevator stopped and the doors opened. "We'll figure out why that is later."

"Captain, Gates' rep. has arrived." Esposito fell into step with Beckett. "Danville is also done processing her. You want us to talk to her?"

"No offense, Espo, but I think that's one interview I should take."

"Copy that. Where do you want us then?"

"Evelynn's supervisor said she had a boyfriend who works in tech support. Name might be Frank. Track him down?"

"You got it."

Beckett and Castle entered the security room. "Hey, Vikram. What do you have?"

"Hey, Captain. Check this out." He hit play.

On the screen, Evelynn Quick stumbled onto the elevator. She was clutching at her chest and gasping for air. Blood dripped on the floor from her wounds despite her efforts to stem the bleeding. Evelynn could tell she was dying. She hit the button for the top brass floor and leaned heavily against the wall until the car reached the fourteenth floor. Now they just needed to know what floor she came from.

"Do you know where she started?"

"No. The cameras on the floors weren't working. And the angle for this one was different from the others. I'm trying though."

"I know you are." Beckett patted Vikram on the shoulder and headed toward the door.

"Captain Beckett?"

"What's up, Vikram?"

The analyst hesitated. "I've been offered my old job with the Attorney General's Office in D.C. I'm pretty sure going back would be safe enough now that LOKSAT is gone. I'm going to take it. I'd like to head back as soon as this case is done, if that's alright with you."

Beckett was surprised and took a minute to think about her answer. "It'll be a shame to lose you, but if that's what you want to do, I'm okay with that. Promise you'll keep in touch?"

"Absolutely."

She shook his hand. "It's been a pleasure to work with you. You'll be missed, but I know you'll do great." She turned and headed back to the elevator. "We need to go talk with Gates."

Castle nodded. "Is there a chance she'll know what Evelynn was doing up there?"

"I don't know." Beckett slid her I.D. and hit the button for the brass' floor. "We'll have to ask her."

* * *

**A/N: This case was very fun to write overall, so I hope you guys like it. Stay tuned!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: I'd like to thank DREAMWRITER08, southerngirl1, and TORONTOSUN for their reviews. TORONTOSUN: **This one was a fun one to put together. **southerngirl1: **Elements were borrowed from another crime show I loved. It was hard to not replicate it shot for shot, but it was fun to have a callback to that other show. **DREAMWRITER08: **Vikram's departure was something I'd originally planned to put in the previous case, but it didn't feel like the right time when I was writing it up. I'd forgotten the episode about Castle being framed for murder when I was writing this case, so there isn't an intended parallel, but it is interesting. **This chapter starts where the last one left off and jumps between several characters. ****Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 10

"Okay, thank you." Ryan hung up the phone. "A Francis Rowe clocked in this morning around the same time our vic did. No one has seen him for a few hours."

"So, he's probably on the run." Esposito glanced at the receptionist again. "She's getting me pictures of all the Frank's, Francis', and Francine's who work in the building. Thought we could run them by Evelynn's boss to see which she was dating."

"Good idea. I'll run down the whereabouts of Mr. Rowe. If he's supposed to be here, where'd he go?"

"Yeah, good call."

The receptionist brought a stack of profiles to Esposito. "Here you go, Detective."

"Thank you." Esposito flipped through the pages and held up Francis Rowe's page. "Here's his info. Want to get a copy?"

Ryan snapped a picture of the page. "Got it."

Esposito put the page back in the stack and headed for the elevator. "See you later."

Ryan spent the next hour on the phone trying to figure out where Frank Rowe could have gone and getting warrants to search those locations. He also talked to every friend or family member he could find numbers for, but no one seemed to know where Frank was. By the end of the hour, no trace had been found, so Ryan went up to where Vikram was. He found the man frantically typing and watching security footage. Ryan just watched for a minute, trying to figure out what he was trying to do.

After a while, Ryan gave up on the puzzle. "Whatcha doing, man?"

"Decrypting the surveillance feed. Originally, I thought that all the cameras were off, but they're not. Someone encrypted the footage. I have to unscramble it."

"So why were the elevator cameras working?"

"Different systems." Vikram typed a couple more lines of code. "That should… do it." He hit enter and all the screens lit up with footage from earlier.

"Nice work, man."

"Thanks." Vikram looked closer at the screens. "I've still got a few blind spots. There must be a few cameras that are still down."

"Where?" Ryan pulled out his notebook.

"Uh, top brass floor, archives, this room, the stairwells, and… behind the cafeteria. I think that's all, but there could be more. I don't know this building very well."

Ryan held up his phone. "I'm looking for this man. He works here, clocked in this morning, but hasn't been seen in a while. I need to know if he's still in the building."

"Sure thing. I'll start the search."

"Thanks, man."

"Yeah."

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

Esposito went straight to Washburne's office. "You're Quick's supervisor, right?"

"Yeah. How can I help you, Detective?"

"We're trying to find her boyfriend and I was wondering if you'd look at a few pictures for me."

"I don't remember if I ever met him, but I'll take a look." Washburne sat down.

"These are all the people who might use Frank for their name."

"Got it." Washburne flipped through the stack of photos, carefully looking at each face. There were a couple he deliberated a bit longer on, eventually setting them aside to look at a second time. When he got to Francis Rowe's photo, however, he stopped and held it up. "This is him."

"You're sure?"

"Positive. I saw him kiss her when he would walk her to the door sometimes. I just didn't know him."

"Thank you." Esposito's phone rang. "Esposito. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I'll be right there." He hung up. "Thank you again for your help, Mr. Washburne."

* * *

Esposito went straight to the Commissioner's office when he returned to the fourteenth floor. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes. I've just been told that the press is starting to gather outside. I want to get Gates out of here before they can get her name and picture."

"How can I help, sir?"

"There's a car waiting for you all downstairs. Escort her to the safe house. She'll be under house arrest there until everything gets sorted out." Hardlowe sat down. "Detective, she is still under arrest, so no favoritism."

"Sir?"

"Use handcuffs."

Esposito nodded. "Yes, sir."

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

Gates, now wearing a t-shirt and sweat pants, was using a wipe to clean off her hands when Beckett and Castle walked in. "This is humiliating."

"I'm sorry for all this." Beckett sat across from Gates.

"It's not your fault." Gates threw the wipe away. "It's everyone looking at me like they've already decided I'm guilty."

"Victoria," Gates' rep., Cindy Cook, put a hand on her shoulder, "I know you and Captain Beckett know each other, but…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Captain, the floor is yours."

Beckett opened her notebook. "Just start from the beginning."

"I was here during the award ceremony today, to preserve chain of command. Around noon, I went downstairs to get lunch. Normally, I bring it back to my desk, but today I stayed downstairs."

Castle held up his hand. "Forgive me, Deputy Chief, but could you be more specific about the times?"

"I went downstairs… I think it was five minutes before noon. I got back upstairs no more than three minutes before Commissioner Hardlowe got back."

"Thank you."

Beckett finished writing down the times. "And when you got back, what did you see?"

"I'd taken the middle elevator. When the doors opened, the first thing I'd noticed was the blood trail coming from the elevator to my right. I took out my gun, did a visual sweep of the area, and then followed the trail. When I saw the girl, she was on her side."

Castle looked at Beckett. "On her side? She was facedown when we saw her."

"Yes. She rolled onto her front when I stood up after she was gone." Gates took a deep breath. "She was still alive when I found her. I holstered my weapon and went to try and stop the bleeding. There were too many wounds."

"Did she say anything?"

"Yes. I don't know what it means. She said 'skavon 13104.' She died right after that. I stood up to call it in, she rolled onto her front, and that's when Commissioner Hardlowe found the scene."

"Had you ever seen Ms. Quick before?"

"Not that I recall."

Castle raised his hand again. "Did she say why she came up to this floor?"

"No, she just said 'skavon 13104.' Nothing else."

Beckett set down her notebook. "Is there anything else you remember that could help us?"

"Nothing stands out."

"Thank you, Deputy Chief."

"Thank you for listening."

There was a knock on the door and Esposito poked his head inside. "The media is gathering outside. Hardlowe wants Gates out of here without them seeing her."

Gates stood. "Do they have my name yet?"

"Not sure. There's a car in the garage waiting for us." Esposito came into the room and held up a pair of handcuffs. "I'm sorry. Commissioner's orders."

Gates sighed and turned around. "I understand."

Esposito handcuffed Gates and then led her from the room. "We're taking you to a safe house."

Beckett and Castle walked into the Commissioner's office. "Sir, where is Gates being taken?"

"To a safehouse. If the media has her name, they may have already camped out at her home. If she didn't do this, we need to protect her name and face from being dragged through the mud. As much as we can, at least."

"She'll be under house arrest then?"

"For now." Hardlowe stood and looked out the window. "I want to think she's innocent. But after what Deputy Commissioner Malone did, well... it makes me question things."

"I'll need to be able to talk to her later when I have more information."

"Understood. Just call this office so we can make sure her rep. is present."

Beckett nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"You and your team are probably the best we have. Don't let us down."

"We'll do our best, sir." Beckett led the way to the elevators. "We need to figure out where Evelynn came from."

"You want to find the other part of the blood trail."

"Exactly. We can rule out RTC, the lobby, and the call center floor. They are too busy to have let a blood trail go unnoticed. Same with the garage." She hit the call button. "Let's start with the archives. 'Skavon 13104' might be a case designation."

"I thought the archives were at evidence lockup."

"Cold Cases has a division here. Their archives would be kept here." The elevator arrived.

Castle followed Beckett inside. "Which floor?"

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

Gates waited until they were in the elevator to speak. "Which safe house?"

Esposito shrugged. "I'm not sure. I wasn't told. The driver should know."

"Will my husband be there?"

"Hardlowe didn't say."

Gates sighed. "I want to be able to talk to him at least."

The elevator arrived at the parking level. "I'll see what I can do about that."

"Thank you."

A young officer opened the SUV's door. "We need to leave. A couple reporters tried to sneak in here earlier."

Gates got in the back seat and Esposito climbed in after her. "Why aren't we using the car with blacked-out windows?"

"There wasn't time to get that car here, sir,"

Gates leaned forward and put her head down as far as she could. "Let's get moving."

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

Beckett's phone chirped. "Esposito confirms that Evelynn's boyfriend is Frank Rowe."

"Good to have a name."

"Yeah." The elevator arrived on the archive floor and Beckett led the way. "If the roster for today is correct, only the archivist should be on duty down here, but she didn't come in today." She pointed to the floor. "More blood."

"So, Evelynn was here." Castle was careful to avoid the drips. "If the archivist isn't here, how will we get in?"

"They're trying out a new system. Hopefully having access to all of the building will be enough."

"What kind of system?"

"Not sure. I think it's based on Bluetooth or something similar."

They arrived at the door. "Will we be able to get inside?"

"If Hardlowe did what he said he would, my I.D. should be enough to get inside." She swiped her card and the light flashed green. "Let's go."

"More blood in here. Would Evelynn have clearance?"

"No, 911 operators don't have that kind of clearance." Beckett pulled out her gun. "Keep your eyes out for 'skavon 13104.'" She turned left.

"Okay." Castle headed right, looking down the aisles as he walked. "Uh, Beckett? I found a body."

"What?" She headed toward Castle's voice.

"There's a body here." He pointed.

Becket headed down the aisle toward the body, Castle circling around to get behind her. When they reached it, they could clearly see the cut across his throat and the arterial spray on the shelves and plastic boxes. An I.D. was clipped to the breast pocket of the victim's shirt, but it was turned backward. Beckett looked around the crime scene, making sure it was clear. Castle pulled on a pair of gloves and reached out to flip the badge so they could read it.

"Francis Rowe. This is Evelynn's boyfriend."

"Yeah." Beckett pulled out her phone. "This is Captain Beckett. I need CSU and Dr. Parish in the archives at 1PP right away. We have another body."

* * *

**A/N: Stay tuned!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: I'd like to thank southerngirl1 for her review. This chapter picks up where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11

Lanie was the last to arrive. "I'd just gotten back to the morgue, you know."

"I know. Sorry." Beckett lead her to the body. "Francis Rowe. He was dating Evelynn."

"Interesting." Lanie set down her kit. "Throat is slashed, no murder weapon present; he wasn't Evelynn's killer. You're looking for at least one more person."

"Yeah, but we don't have any suspects. Tech says an override was not installed on the archives doors. All we know is they opened the doors at 11:38."

"That'll help me narrow down a timeline."

Ryan came up to Beckett. "Esposito's still with Gates. She doesn't recognize Rowe either."

"Okay, thanks."

Vikram came up to them. "The cameras on this floor were turned off manually at the box. That's why nothing is on now. This box is also where the virus that encrypted everything else was released."

"Do we have footage from before the cyber-attack?"

Vikram nodded. "Yeah, we should."

Beckett turned to Ryan. "Go upstairs with Vikram and go through that footage. The killer may have been on camera when he made contact with the vics."

Both men nodded. "Got it."

Castle came up to Beckett. "I found 'SKavon13104.'"

"Where?"

He led Beckett to the main computer. "According to this, the box should be on aisle twenty, third shelf down, and about halfway down the aisle. But," he took her to the shelf, "it's not here."

"The killer took it."

"Yes and no." Castle took her to the back corner of the room. "I remembered what you said about this system and noticed that there are no external ports on the computer besides the keycard reader. They wouldn't be able to fake the right clearance to remove the box without setting off the alarm, so they emptied the box."

"Castle, just because they left the box here…"

"I'm just thinking they may have left some evidence behind."

"Okay, that's better than what I thought you were doing."

Castle looked confused. "What?"

"I thought you were saying, 'yes, they took the evidence, but no, they didn't take the box.'"

"Actually, yeah, that's what I meant by 'yes and no,' but I was also saying that CSU should take a look at this."

Beckett sighed. "Castle, I haven't eaten since this morning. I love you, but please don't test my patience."

"That's right, food! None of us have eaten since we got here." Castle headed back to the body. "Attention, everybody. I was going to do a food run. If anyone has special dietary needs, come see me so I can get you something special. Otherwise, I'm grabbing a couple sub sandwich platters."

Beckett smiled. "Thanks, Rick."

"No problem. Uh… should I grab two or three platters?"

"Two should be fine. This shouldn't be a full meal, just something to keep us going."

"Got it. See you when I get back."

Lanie looked up. "Hey, Beckett. You might want to see this." She held something up.

"What is that?"

"Not sure; some kind of fibers? It was in the wound tract." Lanie put the bloody fibers in an evidence jar. "Might have come from the knife or killer. I'll have the lab test them to find out what it is."

"Okay." Beckett pointed to a few red marks. "Defensive wounds?"

"That would be my guess." The M.E. finished writing her notes. "Okay, can I take the body back to the morgue now? Or would you like to search the building to make sure there are no more bodies first?"

Beckett smirked. "I think you're good. But I'll be sure to call if another does turn up."

Lanie's smile was tinged with mischief. "I'll be sure to send Perlmutter."

* * *

Castle returned and set up the sandwich station in the Cyber Crimes room Vikram had commandeered. Everyone took a much needed break to eat and refuel for the rest of the time they would need to process everything and interview everyone. By the end of the day, another two hours later, Beckett felt as though she'd spent far too much time in this building. She needed to get outside and see something else.

Castle carried a plate of food over to her while she was wrapping up yet another interview. "You should eat."

"Thanks." Beckett took a bite. "Where'd this come from?"

"I had Alexis deliver." Castle got to work on his own plate. "I didn't realize we would be here all day."

"The crime scenes were all here. Everything happened in this building."

"We're not normally at the scene this long."

Beckett nodded. "True. But this case is bigger than normal. The press is going to go crazy with this one." She sighed. "We can't afford to make mistakes."

Castle gave her an understanding smile. "Is the pressure getting to you?"

Beckett smiled too. "A little."

"If you repeat what I say here, I will confirm it with every fiber of my being, but you are the greatest detective I've ever known."

"I'm not Batman."

"Yeah, you're right. You're better than Batman. You do what he does without all the high-tech toys." Castle smiled.

Beckett laughed. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

"Captain?"

"Hey, Ryan, what'd you and Vikram find?"

Ryan sat down too. "So… we've been through all the footage for today and we can't find anyone acting suspicious near the victims. But there was an hour when the call center and elevator cameras went out."

"Randomly?"

"No, scheduled maintenance. It would have been the perfect time to approach them both." Ryan looked at his notebook. "Tech support workers say they don't remember seeing Frank after that, and the same can be said about Evelynn in the call center. Also the encryption was on the cameras when they came back up, so we're unable to use the footage for anything before Hardlowe left to go to the event this morning."

Castle leaned back in his chair. "Okay, either the killer got really lucky, or they knew about all of this. For the record, I'm betting on the killer knowing."

"Me too." Beckett looked at her watch. "Okay, it's getting late. Let's get back to this in the morning."

"Sounds good." Ryan stood. "Esposito went back to the precinct after Gates was settled. The murder board has been started. I'll let him know we're done for the day."

"Thanks, Ryan."

* * *

"Morning, Guys."

"Morning, Captain." Ryan handed Beckett a folder. "Danville finished processing the evidence collected from Gates."

"Great." Beckett opened the folder. "Cliffnotes?"

"Didn't read it all yet."

"Okay, where did you get?"

Ryan gave Beckett the downlow. "Blood on Gates' hands was just Evelynn's. No trace of Frank's blood on her."

"Thought you didn't read the folder." Beckett smirked.

"This bit was from Lanie. Anyway, autopsies aren't done yet, so we don't know more about the victims yet. Esposito went through their lives and financials yesterday, though. Both are clean. Frank has a couple parking tickets, but the rest is spotless."

"What else?"

"Social media doesn't talk about anything changing in their lives. It's the same for texts and emails. Javi is going through their phone records now."

Beckett nodded. "Okay, keep me posted."

"Yeah."

Beckett started reading the file. Danville, as always, was thorough. She'd tested all of Gates' clothing, as well as her hands, arms, and any skin that had been exposed. According to Ryan, Evelynn's blood had been on Gate's hands and arms; Danville's report said that the only blood on Gates' clothing had been on the sleeves of her blazer and the knees of her slacks. There was no spatter on anything else Gates had been wearing, nor were there traces of blood on her face or neck. And none of the blood was Frank's.

Castle came in with two coffees. "Good morning, Captain. You got up early."

Beckett accepted her coffee. "This case is big. Can't waste any time on it." She handed him the lab report. "Lab results put Gates in the clear."

"Evelynn's blood is only where you'd expect to find it if she was trying to save the victim's life. So, does this mean she can leave the safe house?"

"Doubt it. This only clears her from wielding the blade. Commissioner Hardlowe is going to need us to prove she wasn't involved at any stage of this case."

"True." Castle sat on the couch. "The murder board looks nice and full."

"Yeah. I'm waiting for Lanie right now. With Gates cleared from the murders, we need more data to help narrow down the suspect."

"Ryan and Esposito looking into the victims' lives?"

"Yep."

"Where would you like me to start?"

Beckett's phone buzzed. "With me in the morgue. Lanie's ready for us."

* * *

"C.O.D. is not surprising. Sharp force trauma for both; his was across his neck, hers were several penetrating wounds." Lanie lowered the sheets on the victims. "What was interesting were those fibers I found."

"How so?"

"Let's see." She grabbed the folder. "Cotton-poly blend, consistent with a cheap handkerchief…"

"That's not exactly interesting."

"I wasn't done." Lanie was smirking. "What was interesting is what was on the fabric."

Beckett waited, but Lanie wasn't telling. "And? What was it?"

"Powdered seeds from the borrachero plant, more commonly known as burandanga or Devil's Breath. Not at all common to this area."

"I've heard of this." Castle turned to Beckett. "Devil's Breath, burandanga, is native to Colombia. Rumor has it that if someone gets hit with this, they lose all free will. Someone can tell them to empty their bank account or kill someone and the victim will do it, usually with no memory of what happened when the effects wear off."

"That's not entirely true. Most of the effects are just rumors, or isolated cases. What is true is a lowering of inhibitions and memory loss." Lanie turned to Evelynn's body. "There were traces of burandanga in her system."

"That would explain what Gates described." Beckett turned to Castle. "Evelynn was only able to say 'SKavon13104' because…"

"… she couldn't remember anything else."

"What about Frank?" Beckett turned back to her friend.

"Concentrations of burandanga were higher in his system. My guess is that he was still under the influence when he was killed. She might have been coming out of the trance when she was attacked." Lanie handed Beckett two files. "This is everything I have."

"Thanks, Lanie."

* * *

When Beckett got back to her office, Jo Danville was waiting for her. "We have a better idea of what happened at 1PP."

"Good." The Captain took her seat. "What do you got?"

Danville pulled out the sketch of the second crime scene. "When we were processing the archives, it appeared as though there was only one blood pool."

"Right."

"It was two. They were overlapping." She paused. "Maybe it would be easier to show you."

* * *

**A/N: Stay tuned!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: First off, I'd like to apologize for the long break between posts. Pregnancy life got a bit crazy there and then I just got out of the habit. I'd also like to thank TracyGsoccermom, southerngirl1, and TorontoSun for their reviews. I'm going to try to finish posting this case before my due date, and then I will probably have to take another break as I adjust to being a new mom. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 12

Beckett and Castle followed Danville into the archives at 1PP. "What is easier to show?"

"In my experience, sketches and pictures only go so far. Sometimes being in the space makes it easier to see what happened."

"I do that when I'm writing." Castle walked deeper in the room. "It's easier to plan a scene if I know what the space feels like."

"The blood pool is here. Frank's body was here." Danville pointed out the locations.

"Right." Beckett walked around the scene. "I'm guessing some of these drops are not arterial spray."

"Correct. And look at these drops."

"They're smeared." Castle looked at Danville. "This is where Evelynn was."

"I believe so. This side of the blood pool was mostly Evelynn's blood. From the spread of the blood, I would say that Frank was killed first and then she was killed."

"That fits with Lanie's assessment. Frank was drugged first and killed first…"

Castle looked puzzled. "Are you sure?"

"Walk me through what's confusing you."

"Evelynn had less of the drug in her system. Wouldn't that mean she was drugged first?"

"Not necessarily. Lanie's report has Frank dying almost an hour before Evelynn. Because they were drugged around the same time, she had more time to metabolize the drug. We know Frank went 'missing' before Evelynn did…"

Castle interrupted. "During the hour the cameras were down."

Beckett nodded. "I'm guessing that's when Frank was drugged so that he could get Evelynn out of the call center…"

"So she could be drugged." Castle nodded. "That makes sense now."

Beckett picked up where she left off. "After she was attacked, Evelynn probably passed out for a while. When she woke up, the killer had probably already left, so she went looking for help."

"Explaining how she ended up on fourteen. But no one was there and she'd lost too much blood already, so it was too late when Gates found her."

Danville nodded. "I believe that's what happened. Is this how you guys usually work together?"

Castle nodded. "I'm sure Lanie can tell you a lot of stories about that."

Beckett turned to the lab tech. "Thank you, Jo; that was a lot of help."

"No problem. I'd better get back to the lab."

Beckett's phone rang. "Hey, Ryan, what'd you find?"

"_Evelynn had access to the archives room. She was in training to take over the room when the current evidence supervisor retires._"

"How are we just finding out about this now?" Beckett put her phone on speaker.

"_The current supervisor, Marlene Mattingly, just came in and told me why she wasn't there yesterday. There had been a gas leak reported at her building. Everyone was told to go to the hospital and get checked out._"

"Did you check it?"

Ryan scoffed. "_Who do you think you're talking to? Call came in at 7:20am, and emergency services were on the scene by 7:35. Marlene and her two hundred closest neighbor friends checked into the local hospital's ER by 8:15. Hospital was packed yesterday. It took Marlene all day to be seen._"

"What about the gas leak?" Castle followed Beckett toward the elevator.

"_No leak was found. Not even a hint of a leak. Call was eventually considered bogus. I ran a search on the number that reported. It belongs to a pay phone._"

Beckett hit the call button for the elevator. "Okay, look into Marlene's life. Find out if there's any reason why the killer bothered to spare her life."

"_On it._"

Beckett hung up. "This case is getting stranger."

"What if we looked into the case? The one that was stolen, I mean?"

"You're thinking the case was stolen by the suspect in that case?"

Castle nodded. "Maybe. That's the way I'd write it at least."

* * *

"Okay, so SKavon13104 is a homicide case, though the body was never found. It happened on January 31st, 2004 and the victim was Sharron Kavon."

Castle was looking over Beckett's shoulder. "That explains the designation; it stands for Sharron Kavon, January 31, 2004. That's not how cases usually get numbered, is it?"

"No, the case number is different. SKavon13104 is the Cold Cases' shorthand for it. Uh… suspects are Henry Reisinger, Mark Jenkons, Carl Haversham, and Vince Patrino."

Castle pulled out his phone and speed dialed a number before slowly putting his phone back in his pocket. "For a moment, I forgot…"

"Forgot what?"

"That Hayley's gone. I was going to ask her to check these guys out, but…"

"I'm sorry." Beckett was quiet for a moment. "I'm going to have the detective on this case come in. Want to join me?"

Half an hour later, Beckett and Castle sat down with the Cold Case Detective and talked about all the suspects. Henry Reisinger had died two months earlier, so he was quickly removed from the list. Mark Jenkons was also crossed out because he was back in prison as of a month ago. Carl Haversham had a jacket for mostly petty theft, so Cold Cases were leaning toward Vince Patrino, a known hitter for the mob.

"Now, he could have nothing to do with Kavon's murder, but he did have a number of hits in that area and the bullet came from a twenty-two caliber Glock, which is his weapon of choice."

Beckett finished her note. "Is breaking into secure buildings in his repertoire?"

"If it's a building, he breaks into them." The detective leaned forward. "A word of advice, Captain? If you're going after him, make sure you don't let him know you're coming. He's as slippery as a weasel, but five times as dangerous. And he's a huge fan of boobytraps."

Castle leaned forward too. "What kind of traps?"

"The kind that can kill. Four officers have been killed by his traps before."

"Why hasn't he been arrested yet?"

The detective shrugged. "Connections, bribes, intimidation, blackmail? He's mobbed up, so it could be any of the above." He stood. "There's also the fact that he's hard to find and he doesn't leave much in the way of evidence behind. Good luck."

Beckett headed for her office. "Ryan, Espo."

"Coming, Captain." Ryan stood. "Esposito's not here right now. He's talking to Marlene Mattingly."

Beckett closed the door behind Ryan. "I'll catch him up when he gets back. We've narrowed down the suspect list to Carl Haversham and Vince Patrino."

Ryan's phone buzzed. "That's Espo. He says Marlene is Patrino's aunt by marriage."

"Make that one suspect. Have Esposito meet us at Patrino's last known residence and call the Bomb Squad. Apparently Patrino likes to leave traps. I want to be prepared for anything."

* * *

The Bomb Squad and Beckett's team got ready around the corner and out of sight of Patrino's building. Beckett held up a picture of Patrino and briefed the Bomb Squad on what the Cold Case Detective had told them. After that, everyone hurried to Patrino's building and up to his front door. Bomb Squad did a quick check with an endoscopic snake camera and confirmed a bomb was attached to the inside of the door frame, but it was not armed.

Ryan knocked on the door. "Mr. Patrino? NYPD, we'd like to talk to you."

There was a barely perceptible click. "You can't fool me! I won't let you kill me."

The Bomb Squad stepped forward, but Beckett waved them off. "Mr. Patrino, my name is Captain Kate Beckett. We need to speak to you about your aunt."

There was another faint click and the door opened. "You really Kate Beckett?"

The Captain showed her I.D. "Yes, sir. Can I ask you to step out here, please?"

"Sorry. I thought after what I did, you were a hitter coming to kill me." Patrino stepped outside and held out his hands to be arrested.

He was quickly cuffed and Esposito read him his rights. "Going somewhere, Mr. Patrino?" He gestured to the suitcases in the apartment.

"Just came back from somewhere."

"Where?"

Patrino looked at Beckett and sighed. "D.C. I was there for the past two weeks."

"Doing what?"

"I was," he sighed, "I was turning state's evidence. That's why I thought you were a hitter. That's what the bomb was doing on my door frame. I wanted to make sure that if I died, I was taking them with me."

"Who's your handler?"

A familiar voice spoke up. "That would be me."

"Demming. I'd heard you'd moved to the Marshals. You can vouch for him?"

He nodded. "I can. I wish I had been informed of this visit, but I guess there was no way for you to have known." Demming turned to Patrino. "Go with them. We'll revise your move schedule while everything gets cleared up."

Patrino nodded. "Just promise me no one will find out."

"I promise you will be safe. Captain Beckett is the best cop there is. You're in good hands."

* * *

"Patrino reached out to us six months ago. He found out the mob was getting ready to kill him after a couple of his jobs went bad." Demming slid a file to Beckett. "He told them he'd put together a file that would get them all arrested if anything happened to him."

"When are the Feds moving him?" Beckett looked over the file.

"Any day now. What are you looking at Patrino for?"

"Double homicide at 1PP. He was a suspect in a cold case that was stolen at the same time." She slid the file back.

"Oh, right. Gates is a suspect, isn't she?"

"She's been cleared."

"Good. I'd be surprised if she had a hand in something like that."

"Same. I'm assuming you'll sign an affidavit saying Patrino was with you at the time of the murders?"

Demming nodded. "Of course."

Castle leaned forward. "Would any of his former associates try to frame him for this job?"

Demming thought about it. "There might be one. His name is Carl Haversham. His jacket might only have small time crimes in it, but he's the mastermind on a lot of the mob's jobs. Apparently, the petty crimes are there to cover up larger crimes when he'd get caught."

Beckett looked at Castle. "Haversham is on our suspect list."

"That's right. Cold Cases were dismissing him because of his jacket."

"Thank you, Tom." Beckett crossed the bullpen to her office. "Ryan, Esposito."

"Coming."

"Yes, Captain."

"We have a new suspect. Carl Haversham…"

Esposito interrupted. "The guy with the weak jacket?"

"Yes, him. Turns out he's actually a mastermind for the mob Patrino just sold out. His weak jacket was to make sure cops wouldn't look too closely. He's setting Patrino up. I don't know if that means he's aware of the Federal involvement or not, but if he's as smart as Patrino claims, we need to be careful."

Ryan nodded. "Do we know where he lives?"

Demming knocked on the door frame. "Patrino gave me Haversham's address." He handed a slip of paper to Ryan. "I'm assuming you want to take him yourself?"

"If the State of New York gets first crack at him, you're free to join."

Demming shook his head. "It'll take too long for me to wrangle that agreement from my bosses. Go ahead. I'll talk to them."

Beckett turned to her detectives. "Let's go."

* * *

**A/N: Stay tuned!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: I'd like to thank a guest for their review. I'd also like to apologize; I did not finish posting the case before my due date, but that's because my little munchkin decided to come a couple weeks early. We are both doing well, but it looks like my writing time has been drastically cut for the foreseeable future. I'll try to post more when I can, but that will probably mean a lot of gaps between posts. Again, sorry in advance. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13

The SWAT team meet them outside Haversham's apartment building. "Ready when you are, Captain."

Beckett held up the photo of Haversham. "This is our target. He's very smart and we have to assume he is armed and dangerous. He used a drug known as Devil's Breath on his victims, so be careful."

"Copy that." The SWAT team captain turned to his men. "Let's move out."

Beckett's team followed the SWAT team upstairs. Because of what they knew about Haversham, the judge had granted a no-knock warrant. SWAT was going to bust in and hopefully have the suspect restrained before Beckett's team even stepped inside. Outside the door, everyone stacked up and SWAT checked their weapons once last time. The officer with the ram lined up and waited for the signal.

His captain counted down from three and the ram slammed into the door. It didn't fly off the hinges, but it was loose enough that a strong shoulder could finish the job. The officers swarmed inside, yelling. Beckett's team had been told to wait a count of ten, but a "Clear!" and "Suspect in custody!" had them entering sooner. Beckett entered first, looking around at the large and well-furnished apartment. It was clear Haversham wasn't your average New Yorker.

Beckett found her way to a rear bedroom to find the suspect in handcuffs, still face down on the floor. "Good work."

"He's been read his rights, but you're welcome to do it again, if you like."

"We'll talk to him at the station."

The SWAT captain nodded. "Want us to take him to booking for you?"

"That'd be great, thank you."

"Not a problem." Haversham was hoisted up and escorted out by the SWAT team.

Beckett turned to her team. "CSU is on their way, so look but don't touch."

"Copy."

The team fanned out and looked around the apartment. Everything was far nicer than Haversham should be able to afford. His identity on paper was that of a book editor. Sure, you could make a nice living with that job, but you had to have a lot of well known clients for that. The suspect's work portfolio had a few dozen entries, and none of those were best sellers. His income was definitely from an alternative source.

"Beckett! Found the evidence!" Esposito called the Captain into the second bedroom.

Haversham had turned this room into his "wall of crazy." The photos, evidence, and documents from the cold case were tacked to the walls with strings connecting everything. He hadn't just stolen this case for someone; he was trying to connect the dots in it as well. From some of the questions on post-it notes, Beckett could tell that Haversham thought the victim might still be alive, and he was trying to find her.

Esposito looked at Beckett. "Why is he looking for a dead woman?"

"No body was ever found." The Captain looked at the notes more closely. "'He was in love with her.' Haversham must have realized that Patrino might not have killed Kavon. I don't know what tipped him off, but that's what started this whole thing. I think Haversham is trying to find her."

Ryan pointed at another note. "And he found her. Well, kinda. This one says, 'WITSEC.' So, he knows she's in the program, but nothing near this note says where."

Beckett nodded. "I'll ask Marshal Demming about it. I'm gonna leave you two in charge of the scene. After we talk to Demming, Castle and I have an errand to run."

"No problem, Captain. We'll keep you posted."

* * *

"Thanks for meeting with us again, Tom."

"No problem. I know you found Haversham, so I'm a little confused what you need…"

"We found Haversham, and the evidence he stole, but that's not what we're here to talk to you about. He'd set up a 'wall of crazy' with the evidence and it looks like he's looking to find a woman who is presumed dead. According to his wall, she's in WITSEC."

Demming shifted in his chair. "Kate…"

Beckett held up a hand to stop him. "I don't need to know where she was moved, or why. I just need to know if his theory is true so I can let Cold Cases know to… not be eager to work on that case. Her name was Sharron Kavon."

Demming looked at her for a long minute and then sighed. "She is in the program. That's all I can tell you."

"That's all I need." Beckett stood and extended her hand. "Thanks again, Tom."

Demming stood and shook her hand. "No problem. Listen, Kate, I know New York will want to try Haversham for the 1PP break-in, and rightly so, but the Feds want him for everything else. A lot of his crimes crossed state lines, making them federal cases."

"Of course." Beckett nodded. "I'll let the D.A. know."

"I appreciate it."

Beckett and Castle returned to the car and headed for the cemetery. The headstone Castle had ordered for Hayley's grave was finally ready to be put in place. The couple were meeting the installation team at Hayley's graveside. It hadn't been necessary, but Castle felt he needed to be there, so Beckett was coming with. Which was probably a good thing because Castle was getting a little tense as they drove to the cemetery.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Castle looked at his wife. "I haven't been here since the funeral. I kinda feel bad about that."

"You've been busy. Between your business and your writing, you've been gone a lot."

"I know, but still. It shouldn't be so hard to visit for a couple minutes."

Beckett parked behind the delivery van. "I'm sure Hayley would understand."

Castle smiled. "Thanks for coming with me, Kate."

"Always."

They got out of the car and met with the installers for a couple minutes before the grave marker was brought out of the van for Castle's inspection. It was a simple marker that would be about two feet tall when it was finally placed. It was made from a black granite with a glass-like finish and the text looked white against the dark stone. Seeing it in person for the first time, Castle was pleased that it looked exactly the way he thought it would.

Castle nodded. "That looks great. You know where it goes?"

"Yes, sir."

"Great. We'll let you get to work."

While the men got to work. Castle looked around at the graveyard. A lot of people found graveyards creepy, probably from the number of dead bodies housed within, but to Castle graveyards held a sort of somber beauty found only in these sorts of places. A graveyard was a resting place for those who had lived. For those still living, it was a place to mourn and celebrate the lives of those they'd lost. Hayley's graveside in particular was filled with that serene beauty.

The workers stepped back. "How does that look, Mr. Castle?"

Castle looked at the marker. "That looks great."

Beckett rubbed Castle's arm. "I think she'd like it."

Hayley Shipton

דינה מרילו שפיר (Dinah Marilou Shafir)

Born: April 8, 1977 / (20th of Nisan, 5737) כ׳ בְּנִיסָן תשל״ז

Died: December 5, 2022 / (11th of Kislev, 5783) י״א בְּכִסְלֵו תשפ״ג

Castle nodded. "Thanks. I tried to follow her specifications, but she didn't leave much for me to work with."

The installers packed up their tools. "Your account is paid for, so we don't have anything to give you. Enjoy the rest of your day."

Castle shook their hands. "Thanks, fellas."

The couple moved up to the graveside to pay their respects. The dappled sunlight made the stone shimmer slightly, adding to the beauty of the spot. The shimmer reminded Castle of the twinkle in Hayley's eyes when she was being mischievous. He really did miss her. How had it already been over a month since her death? Apparently, time flew no matter what your emotional state.

"Hold up, guys, I'm missing a tool." One of the workmen came back into view.

"Everything okay?" Castle stepped forward.

"Everything's fine. I just left one of my tools around here somewhere." He started looking around the gravestone.

Castle suddenly felt a sharp pinch at his neck. He tried to call out to Beckett, but the words wouldn't form on his lips as his vision went dark. Unknown to him, Beckett was also being drugged and she had tried to call out to him too. The workmen quickly looked around the graveyard and then loaded the couple into their van, relieving them of their phones and weapons before driving away.

* * *

Esposito glanced at Beckett's office when they got back to the precinct. "Any idea what the errand Beckett and Castle had to do is?"

Ryan started to shake his head but stopped halfway through. "Actually, I think Castle mentioned the marker for Hayley's grave was ready for installation. I'm gonna bet they're doing that."

Esposito nodded. "Makes sense."

They spent the next couple hours going over everything they had found in Haversham's apartment, mostly focusing on the "wall of crazy." It was amazing; in the two days they'd spent looking for him, Haversham had gone over every detail of the case and added all the information he'd gathered in the last eighteen years to come to the conclusion that Sharron Kavon had not actually been killed on January 31, 2004.

Ryan stepped back from the board. "It all fits. No body was found, Vince Patrino was in love with her; she must be in the Witness Protection Program."

"Yeah, but why go after her now? It's been eighteen years. Why try to track her down now?"

"Patrino is turning state's evidence. I'll bet Haversham is trying to kill a corroborating witness or scare Patrino into not testifying."

Esposito nodded and looked at his watch. "Where are Beckett and Castle?"

"I don't know. I don't think it takes this long to install a gravestone." Ryan pulled out his phone. "I'll give them a call."

Esposito watched his partner put his phone to his ear, shake his head, and select another number. "Anything?"

Ryan shook his head again. "They're not answering."

"I don't like this." Esposito grabbed his keys. "Coming?"

"Right behind you."

The boys drove out to the cemetery and slowly drove around until they saw Beckett's car. They parked behind her car and got out, looking around. Esposito remembered that Hayley's grave was a little distance from the road, but it wasn't out of sight; Beckett and Castle were nowhere to be found. Ryan noticed something by a grave under the tree and headed for it.

"What do you see?"

"That." Ryan pointed to Beckett's badge, gun, and two phones. "There's a note under the phones."

Esposito put on gloves and grabbed the note. "'Your move, Hunt.'"

"Someone took Beckett and Castle."

"And they're after Jackson Hunt, Castle's dad."

"What do we do?" Ryan was scared. "We don't have a way to contact him. How do we let him know what happened?"

Esposito shrugged. "I don't know. What I do know is the bastards were prepared. I don't know too many people who can best Beckett in a fair fight."

"You're thinking they were drugged?"

"Yes. And we don't know who's behind it at all."

* * *

**A/N: For some reason, I had to put the date written in Hebrew after the English translation or the formatting of the whole line was completely screwed up. No idea what causes it, since it's fine in the word document I uploaded. Very strange. Who has our favorite couple? Stay tuned!**


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